Professionalism at it’s finest!!!

Truly the pros from Dover…

The Rule is- Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. This is how it’s supposed to be done. Apparently the ‘initial’ roll was around 40 degrees into the dead engine, along with the associated depressurization, vibration and assorted ‘other’ issues…

They did it in the right order. Sadly, one life was lost, but that is not on the crew. BZ to both them and the controllers! And that Navy training came through for Captain Shults!

Comments

Professionalism at it’s finest!!! — 18 Comments

  1. Remind me to never play poker with that lady. Cool as a cucumber!!!

  2. Yes, professionalism, training and a cool head won out. (to be expected of a Naval Aviator)

    Air travel in the US is remarkably safe. This was one of those situations where it was not and investigators will find the cause.

    The loss of life is lamentable. But it could have been so much worse.

  3. Agree. Let us also recognize the brave passengers, and perhaps cabin crew, in the midst of the chaos pulling a passenger back into the plane.

  4. Panic and die, or fly it to the end. Great job by all and I’m very impressed with the the hurry but stay cool and calm of all involved.

  5. Uh, translation please? The plane rolled 40 degrees after the engine went splodey?

    • Yes. When you lose an engine, the aircraft will want to roll in the direction due to a loss of lift on that wing.

      It will also yaw in that direction due to a loss of thrust on that side.

  6. Many years ago I operated a KC135 Flight Simulator & rapid decompression was one of the drills we had the flight Crews practice regularly. With the right configuration a big airplane can be made to drop like a rock, yet under control. It would “scare the hell” out of an unsuspecting passenger !!!

  7. All- Thanks for the comments! JMI- A catastrophic loss of power will cause the airplane to slew in the direction of the dead engine, plus the damage to the left engine reduced the life, hence the 40+ degree ‘roll’ to the left.

    Posted from my iPhone.

  8. Hey Old NFO;

    I had seen some of the pics on some of the facebook groups I belong to, the B737 is a good plane and the CFM 56 series engines are a good motor, They were total professionals and cool as cucumbers, kudo’s to the flight crew. The passengers and the oxygen masks are a different story, I don’t think that the people pay attention to the safety briefings, LOL

    • I got that feeling as well. “Nose and mouth” ladies, gentlemen, and anyone else on board, “nose and mouth.”

      I really, really did not like single-engine training. Especially in a Certain Light Twin that thought it was fun to flip inverted if you had the critical engine die while slowing down to land, or if taking off. We did that training at, oh, almost 7,000 feet above the ground. Glad I’d been doing aerobatics so I wasn’t all that surprised when the blue turned green and vice versa.

    • Oddly enough, the first journey that most of a B737 makes is made without wings or jet engines. Instead, the entire fuselage makes a long journey by rail from Wichita, KS to Renton, WA – and for a short stretch the tracks run down a city street!

  9. Bob- Yep, you can tell WHO paid attention to the FA’s safety spiel… sigh

    TXRed- Excellent point, and THAT is why you practice EPs!!!

    TOS- Neat little video, thanks!

  10. Another reminder that wearing your seatbelt while actually sitting in a moving aircraft is a smart idea. Rough air, sudden maneuvering, parts of the aircraft failing: doors, windows, overheads. Can you say “poptop aircraft”?!!

  11. NFO:

    Aloha Airlines 243 Pop Top, Kahului, Hawaii = “Pop-top” or “convertible” aircraft.

    THAT had to be just about the scariest ride ever!