Nature is pityless -- woman sucked out of plane.

[johan]

When you look at the numbers, number of engines that exist, number of hours they spend in flight, number of fan blade failures they experience, you realize the current level of engineering is more than adequate to insure excellent levels of public safety. You probably have a better chance of being crushed by a meteor while also being bit by a shark than you have of being killed as a result of turbine engine fan blade failure.

Oh, I agree, but then again, if it is possible to make air travel even safer, why not?

In a word, cost. And weight. Window material that is as good or better than aluminum at protecting against projectiles already exists. And it weighs a ton. Fit out your 737 with those windows and you wouldn't have to worry about those cramped airline seats anymore. Passengers would have tons of space to stretch out because the plane would likely only be able to lift a dozen or so. Which would of course impact ticket prices. Which brings us back to the word, cost.

All to protect against a problem that is already so rare it hardly qualifies as a problem. At some point you have to draw the line and say its good enough or you'll never accomplish anything.

[vorlon13]

Kinda surprising how fast some/most of the shed engine debris was located on the ground.

Important for a thorough investigation.

[johan]

Any word on if they found the fan blade yet?

[vorlon13]

Big piece I recognized was the cowling.

Sounds like they have 1/2 of the fracture surface of the blade, the root that was retained in the hub.

[Anomalocaris]

Also, the hero worship for the pilot is rather cynical and opportunistic.  She didn’t do anything extraordinary. Her aircraft was not on fire, all onboard systems worked, the plane was aerodynamic sound, and one engine out of two was running normally. There is no asymmetrical lift. Stall speed is not impaired, maneuverability is only minimally impaired. It is rudimentary airmanship to land the aircraft in this condition.  You can’t get a multi-engine private pilot license without demonstrating the ability to handle the situation.

[c172]

But WOMAN PILOT ZOMG!!!! Or so it has seemed.

[Anomalocaris]

Kinda surprising how fast some/most of the shed engine debris was located on the ground.

Important for a thorough investigation.

Cowling is brightly colored. Would be easy to see if it landed where there is people.

[johan]

I agree. But I also understand the desire for all the hoopla. People's perception of airplanes is that they aren't designed to fly at all and the only reason they manage to stay airborne is due to the otherworldly levels of skill and true grit of the pilots who perform a near constant stream of miracles requiring every last of ounce on concentration and no small amount of luck.

My wife, who understands that even jack ass's like me are able to learn to fly and get good at it, was impressed that the pilot remained so calm on the radio. I said they lost an engine and cabin pressure, but otherwise everything was working normally. She said but a woman got sucked out, how can they not be freaked out about that. I said yeah but it wasn't THAT woman (the copilot speaking calmly on the radio).

I was more impressed at how cooperative the other air-crews on the frequency were about getting out of the way and letting them have landing priority. Those fuckers were NEVER that cooperative when I was trying to eek out a living flying banners over the stadiums off the end of 27 left @ philly.

[Jehanne]

Oh, I agree, but then again, if it is possible to make air travel even safer, why not?

In a word, cost. And weight. Window material that is as good or better than aluminum at protecting against projectiles already exists. And it weighs a ton. Fit out your 737 with those windows and you wouldn't have to worry about those cramped airline seats anymore. Passengers would have tons of space to stretch out because the plane would likely only be able to lift a dozen or so. Which would of course impact ticket prices. Which brings us back to the word, cost.

All to protect against a problem that is already so rare it hardly qualifies as a problem. At some point you have to draw the line and say its good enough or you'll never accomplish anything.

Well, the Concord had the same problem, and it took a tragedy for the engineers to retrofit the plane with puncture-proof tires. And, so, I am reluctant to accept the word "impossible," and, so, hopefully, everyone has stopped praying and started working on a more robust design. I do work for an avionics company, by the way, but not as an engineer.

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Also, the hero worship for the pilot is rather cynical and opportunistic.  She didn’t do anything extraordinary. Her aircraft was not on fire, all onboard systems worked, the plane was aerodynamic sound, and one engine out of two was running normally. There is no asymmetrical lift. Stall speed is not impaired, maneuverability is only minimally impaired. It is rudimentary airmanship to land the aircraft in this condition.  You can’t get a multi-engine private pilot license without demonstrating the ability to handle the situation.

And, the plane was on autopilot when the tragedy occurred. It was likely the computers ("eicas", in particular) that saved the plane from rolling out of control.

[Catholic_Lady]

Also, the hero worship for the pilot is rather cynical and opportunistic.  She didn’t do anything extraordinary. Her aircraft was not on fire, all onboard systems worked, the plane was aerodynamic sound, and one engine out of two was running normally. There is no asymmetrical lift. Stall speed is not impaired, maneuverability is only minimally impaired. It is rudimentary airmanship to land the aircraft in this condition.  You can’t get a multi-engine private pilot license without demonstrating the ability to handle the situation.

You never know how you will react in a situation like that, no matter how much you train. The fact that she was able to keep her cool and do all the right things is impressive.