Plane malfunction

>>1131276
Do you want the truth or the normie version?

>>1131298
the truth obvs

>>1131276
riga to st.petersburg, flying with an airbaltic machine. plane in front of us on the runway had to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off, so we were stranded. since it was the same airline, didn't put a lot of confidence in us. this was the week after an airbaltic crew was fired/detained? for being drunk on the job.

>>1131300
717 is an ancient plane
>>1131301
Russians fly ancient planes and their idea of maintenance is don't do any

>>1131300
first the 717 is a relict of a plane, it will malfunction on the plus side, you can fix almost anything in-flight...

>the truth obvs
Ok, here you go. As a professional Pilot I can tell you there's rarely a flight without a malfunction. Most of them are easy to solve and non threatening ranging from:
>engine power loss (restart, emergency shutdown, reduced power...)
>high temps (forcing some shutdowns)
>instrument malfunctions
>loss of a generator
>general electronics sperging out/displaying contradictory informations
>avionics sperging out
>false alerts going off
>gears not coming up/going down properly
>going near fuel critical while avoiding storms

You will never hear about it nor notice it as a passenger, we handle it all the time and it won't leave the cockpit beside the note for the maintenance crew.
If it happens during take-off we usually play it safe reject if possible or depart, go around, ask for a priority landing or if severe declare a emergency and land.
>emergency drills are so hammered into my head I still can cite or actually do them in FS completely drunk.

Now the good news:
Actual malfunctions resulting in a crash are so few you can almost disregard it.

>>1131321

Given the initial description, do you have any guesses as to what happened with the plane my partner saw land after trying to take off?

Whats the scariest thing thats happened while flying for you?

>>1131321
>Actual malfunctions resulting in a crash are so few you can almost disregard it
Trouble starts when several of them pile up

>>1131325
>Given the initial description, do you have any guesses as to what happened with the plane my partner saw land after trying to take off?
plenty of options, most likely a bird strike or some scrap metal/stone part hitting a engine and knocking it out (that's where I put my money on) others involve a overheat or a straight out mechanical failure.
If they landed after take-off without going around it must be a hell of a long runway and top notch pilots to pull that off.

>Whats the scariest thing thats happened while flying for you?
Complete loss of power flying a P-6 15min into the flight in the middle of nowhere in Indonesia was fucking scary (no coms, no vital instruments, nothing...) I flew that thing with eye judgment, shitty old maps and gps from my phone
A engine failure on a single engine plane still scares the shit out of me, 120sec till wheels on the ground max, find a landing spot, go trough the procedures and pray you can retract it.
>in commercial aircrafts
honestly? A angsty co pilot trying to retract and go around a sketchy but ok landing at SBGR (Sao Paulo) with minimums in shitty weather (had to take controls and go trough with it)

>>1131326
They start to pile up once you got a real shitty problem but they're mostly two things:
1. pilot errors (going over limitations)
or
2. force majeure where you're fucked anyway.

>>1131327

What is it like working in a cockpit? Do you chat with your co-pilot or do you have to focus?

>>1131334
>What is it like working in a cockpit?
Nothing special once you pass the 1000 flight hour mark we do our job we're trained to do as good as we can and hope maintenance won't let us down. It's like driving a large truck/bus just without the option to stop at will.

>Do you chat with your co-pilot or do you have to focus?
We usually chat a lot of shit in mid flight and are 100% focused on take-off and landing, you won't hear much beside vital informations, one of us is on the radio and instruments and one is in control actually flying the plane not saying more than check, negative or options before making the final decision.

>>1131338

How much freedom do you have? Like if there were a storm, is it up to you to get around it, or do you follow whatever ground control tells you?

If you were to do something strange, how quickly would it be noticed?

Have you seen any weird shit in the sky?

>>1131276
Been on planes with issues twice -- once hit by lightning that shorted something out and forced an unscheduled landing in Birmingdamham Aladambama, once an engine died when goosed at take-off, but they were able to bring it to a stop before getting airborne. Neither was particularly dramatic as a passenger, in neither case did we know anything had really happened until it was over. Might have been a bit more interesting for the pilot.

>>1131348
>How much freedom do you have? Like if there were a storm, is it up to you to get around it, or do you follow whatever ground control tells you?
I'm the captain, I'm the guy in charge to make the final decision. There's some pressure from the ground but if I think it's shit I go around. My first goal is to fly that plane and keep the people on board safe no matter what.

>If you were to do something strange, how quickly would it be noticed?
I can't answer that as it's all about coverage. Can be pretty fast, could never be noticed

>Have you seen any weird shit in the sky?
I flew as a bush pilot for 3 years in fucked up places (Indonesia and Central Africa), I saw all kind of shit including people crashing their planes into a city...

>>1131354

No UFOs?

>>1131362
Nothing /x/ tier, just retards being retards.

Fuck you, you fucking niggers. I have a flight today.

This is a good thread. Thanks to Pilot Guy for sharing here!

>>1131410
This. A shining moment on /trv/

Some major air crashes in the last few years has triggered an interest in this subject, whereas before i was a totally care free traveler. Are you familiar with the Air France Flight 447 crash? Whats your take on what happened there...Supposedly well trained pilots got so confused that they crashed a perfectly fine plane

>>1131443
Heres a good article on the crash

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/business/2014/10/air-france-flight-447-crash

>>1131445

Lol that fucking sucks.

Anon pilot, how did that crash affect you in terms of retraining and such? Id imagine that once they finally determined the pilots were at fault, the authorities responsible went balls to the wall with getting pilots recertified and retrained to prevent a repeat.

Going on my first transatlantic flight in a month - luckily ill probably be sleeping if shit hits the fan like it did there lol.

>>1131445
Very engaging article, sad read. Just goes to show anything can go wrong and fuck you up.

>>1131354

Are there a lot of relationships between captains and flight attendants?

I was checking into a hotel and saw a flight crew checking in, and the pilot was clearly checking into one room with a young flight attendant. Also that article mentions one of the crew traveling with an off duty flight attendant.

>>1131354

Are there any situations in which you will not fly/get in a plane?

Such as type of plane, staff, country, airline company, visual inspection etc

Here I am again.
Glad you guys enjoy it and oh well it actually takes me a lot of time to explain stuff/translate from pilot gibberish to understandable for everyone. I rewrote this post at least 6 times so yeah.

>>1131410
>>1131418
no problem bros

>>1131443
the article from
>>1131445
sums it up perfectly.

My two cents:
>the electronic in modern jets is great but also highly dangerous. It prevents pilots fucking up, but they can also fuck the pilots up or completely overwhelm them with unnecessary informations/warnings
(for those of you who don't know what the electronic safeties actually do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKBABNL-DDM explains it as normie friendly as possible)
>we have generations of pilots that can't fly without electronic assistance or think on their own and that's imo highly problematic especially company babies.
>unnecessary maneuver in a non threatening situation leads to a stall warning both pilots in the cockpit failed to handle a maneuver that is necessary to qualify for your first "Solo" flight and start to fight about who has control... just reading it again gave me cancer

addendum:
I wouldn't hand controls of my private PC-12 to most pilots I work with even if they have 4-5x more hours logged than I have.

>>1131504
>Anon pilot, how did that crash affect you in terms of retraining and such?
Not at all to be honest, in 2009 I was flying a comfy single engine PC-6 or a Caravan in shitholes moving passengers and cargo around improvised airstrips. Started to fly for big Airlines in 2011.

>>>1131527
>Are there a lot of relationships between captains and flight attendants?
Sure happens all the time. Most companies don't like it but hey whatever it happens and sometimes feels like the only possible kind of a relationship. (You're everywhere and nowhere at the same time)

con't...

>>1131531
>Are there any situations in which you will not fly
Not really, there're four actual red flags for me:
>maintenance calls it sketchy and I don't have time for a test flight
>I'm not happy with the visual inspection (small stuff can do big shit)
>starting the engines and I get the first threatening errors.
>severe weather ahead (got almost blown the fuck out of the sky while flying small machines to never underestimate weather again)

>will not get in a plane?
>as long as there's no structural damage visible no. I trust other pilots to do their job.

>>1131321
The 717 is from the late 90's/early 2000's, it's not that old, you might be thinking of the 720

>>1131321

I am assuming the OP is describing aisolated engine failure on a multi engine jet liner.

Is there any decision making process for this type of failure? I.e. rto after v1?

>>1131551
Is it true flight attendants are totel sluts?
>happens all the time.
Well sure, that happens in any job where people spend time together.
I think we mean the stereotype of them hoping on top of every different pilot they work with plus picking up a different guy in every port.

>>1131670
I wouldn't really say they're all sluts, but like any job that you have to travel a lot for your relationships tend to suffer. So it's more likely that flight attendants have difficulty maintaining long-distance relationships and start a bunch of short flings as a consequence of that. I'm sure most people on this board know that feel of getting close to people very quickly when you're traveling.

>>1131321
Is it true that airline pilots get laid like all the time?

>>1131553

How does it work being a pilot and learning new planes? After training do you have the knowledge to fly any kind of plane, or is there a learning curve switching from different planes?

How much math and science did you need to learn? Or is most of it done by the plane now?

>>1131605
Messed that up, but for me the 717 is still just a MD-80 or a longer DC-9. it's a good plane but it's a 1960 design with a few upgrades.
It’s just the big brother of the PC-6 or Cessna 182.
It get's the job done and fit a narrow special need role.

>>1131629
The jet in question has 2 engines but I never flew a 717 so yeah.

>Is there any decision making process for this type of failure? I.e. rto after v1?
rto after v1 within 2 seconds else depart. (rto = reject takeoff, v1 = decision time)
But you know v1 is a lose definition and we could move the goalposts beyond flat earth.
It depends on so many factors, I can’t answer that with “this is what you do“ without going pprune mode that is not suited for /trv/ as I want to keep it readable for everyone.

>>1131670
>Is it true flight attendants are totel sluts?
nope, it's like >>1131678 said.It's a special working environment where you end up to spend more time with your crew than your family.

>>1131709
If you're good at picking up chicks, sure. Else nope. Nobody cares anymore.

>>1131768
>How does it work being a pilot and learning new planes?
The basics stay the same. If you fly a PC-6 or a A350 dosen't matter. they follow the same physical rules. The difference is the cockpit, procedures and getting a feel for the plane.
> After training do you have the knowledge to fly any kind of plane, or is there a learning curve switching from different planes?
There is a learning curve but if you had good flight instructors and got some hours you can fly pretty much any civil plane in 30 days max.

>How much math and science did you need to learn?
It’s a lot but if you have a good education no problem at all to pass it.
>Or is most of it done by the plane now?
If I can teach my 5 year old daughter to land a A330 safely at JFK or FRA without help in FS, well...

>>1132243

During hurricane Mitch I was flying from cancun to California. I don't know what kind of plane it was. During the trip, suddenly the lights went out and the noises of the plane went silent and I felt the sensation of falling for several seconds. Then as if nothing happened the lights went back on and the noises came back and it was never acknowledged.

Do you have any idea what happened? After a little research, it seems like we could have been struck by lightning. Are there are options?

>>1132298
That's pretty much a textbook lightning strike scenario.
It's not catastrophic but threatening for lager aircrafts but you still avoid anything with lightnings like the plague.

On smaller planes a lightning strike is pretty much a death sentence.
I still remember my first flight instructor's quote:
>If we get hit, just roll it over and done.

>>1132550
Or, alternatively, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-happens-when-lightni/

>>1132561
Yeah that's how it should work today...
In a commercial airliner you can take it as the systems will come back and you got enough altitude to work with. The actual results of getting hit in a A320 can range from nothing to a complete loss of power/thurst for a few seconds. It won't explode or anything but it will be a rough ride.

In 99% of small aircrafts you don't have the altitude to recover from anything and in combination with bad weather you're pretty much fucked.
Your typical trainer/plane you rack up hours on are 1960 tier that will get blown the fuck out of the sky.

>>1132550

What is the responsibility of the flight crew in the case of an emergency? I was reading a story about a plane that crashed and was on fire and crew helped people out until the smoke started to take them over.

Is there an official "code" about how to act in a crash? Or is it every man for themselves if the conditions are seriously threatening?

>>1132570
>average plane struck once a year

Yes, that's an average, but still, if what you sat is accurate, planes would be falling out of the sky constantly. Something don't add up.

>>1132602
Not him but cabin crew assist getting the passengers off, flight crew stay on as long as possible and evacuate once everyone else is out (ie. they're the last out)

Speaking of emergencies, good example of a good crew and ATC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJNVVlBPi8M

>>1132602
Those stories happe, their job is to evacuate the plane as fast and orderly as possibel. Nothing else. But yu never know how people react.

If I ever end up in such a situation I will be the last person to leave the plane or go to hell with it and I'm fine with that.

>>1132612
You don't go near a thunderstorm with a aircraft that can't take it.
Actually they fall out of the sky on a almost daily base outside the first/western world but it won't be reported.

But hey keep on moving the goal posts.

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>>1132633
>You don't go near a thunderstorm with a aircraft that can't take it.
Of course not, in addition to lightning, thunderstorms come with interesting wind blowing straight down, hail, and shit like that.

>Actually they fall out of the sky on a almost daily base outside the first/western world but it won't be reported.
Source? My impression is air travel is pretty safe, but if your contention is that lightning downs planes on a daily basis but it doesn't get reported that would contradict that. (If your contention is that planes fall out of the sky every day due to things other than lightning, I'd still be interested in a source, but it is no longer relevant to a discussion about lightning. )

>But hey keep on moving the goal posts.
Not moving anything, have you conflated my posts with somebody else's? I'm just trying to understand what you are saying and evaluate w hat to believe -- this is /trv/, don't assume everybody here is a dick and every post an argument.

We just conversing.

>>1132639
Notice he said outside of the western world. I'mean assuming legit sources aren't prevalent, but he reported flying third world puddle jumpers earlier in the thread, so I am thinking first hand experience

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>>1131276
Was the plane malfunctioning part of your plan?

Pilot anon what happens if a plane crashes into the ocean? Does it float? How long until a rescue?

>>1132639
>Source?
My own experience.
I flew planes in DR Congo, Zambia and Indonesia. I added lost hulls that never got documented to the count every other week. Flew from a Airport where over 30 "recently" lost hulls where piled up for investigation but never investigated or reported beyond local media.
Most of them due to bad weather, idiotic pilot mistakes, terrible maintenance or a combination of all.
Kinda ironic I remember chatting with a colleague on the radio during shitty weather
>see that guy there? I bet he's going to get himself killed...
>Na he know's what he's doing and won't go near that...
....
2h later
>hey bro remember that guy flying straight into that storm
>yeah, why?
>I'm cycling above his crashed hull
>huh?
>yea he smashed it straight into the jungle
>GG, RIP. Did you report it?
>yes, asked me about a possible fire and called it a day.

Air travel is safe as long as you stay within the western world and a few exceptions in the far east. Else it gets really really sketchy as soon as it's not a large carrier.
>russian ww2 era planes so badly maintained even the pilots can't believe it actually does fly and need a bottle of vodka to build up confidence before takeoff.
>non existent safety standards
>busy airport where ATC goes silent for a 3hours casually
>people/anmimals casually strolling around on the runway ranging from no idea, to trying to shoot down the plane with their bows...

>Not moving anything, have you conflated my posts with somebody else's?
yeah sorry, that went into the wrong post. My bad bro.

>>1133390
>if a plane crashes into the ocean?
if you can land it and not flip it, not much. evacuate, and pray.
> Does it float?
yes modern planes do for a pretty long time IF all the landing on water procedures are done correctly and good weather.
>How long until a rescue?
Depends on so many factors, could be minutes, hours or even weeks... First somebody has to notice that you're missing/get your mayday and initiate a SAR mission.

>>1131321
>avionics sperging out

I thought this shit was supposed to be perfect. Like avionic code is tested extensively.
That's not very confidence inspiring.

>>1131526
Pisses me off because it could have been prevented.
>>1131551
How did you become a pilot and then end up in shithole Africa? I bet you have more interesting stories.
>>1132243
>If I can teach my 5 year old daughter to land a A330 safely at JFK or FRA without help in FS, well...
Either she's a genius or it's almost too easy to fly. Then when something simple happens people die.

>>1133841
>I thought this shit was supposed to be perfect. Like avionic code is tested extensively.
That's not very confidence inspiring.
It's a CPU and some sensors. They do a great job but can fuck you up and require manual override.
Tested? yes. 100% correct? nope.

>>1133841
How did you become a pilot and then end up in shithole Africa?
The usual non company baby pilot story, pay for my own professional pilot license, get it with 280 hours, get into some debt, need a place where I can build up flight hours to keep my license, build up hours as any larger company won't consider me under 1500-2000 hours and earn some money...
>I need practice
>they have jobs for qualified young pilots
I take the job, no fucks given and those jobs are rare.
You can choose between blacklisted companies (in the western world), active war/civil war zones, almost failed/failed states or any combination of those three.

>I bet you have more interesting stories
sure, got a lot of shit. Where should I start?
(might post in a day or two just woke up and getting ready for a flight)

>Either she's a genius or it's almost too easy to fly. Then when something simple happens people die.
Nope, it's that easy with all the kind of support systems we have. I could hand any anon controls and he could pull off a safe but rough landing on the first try by just following simple instructions.
As long as nothing bad happens, you follow the check lists and don't want to crash it intentionally any retard can fly a modern aircraft.

I'm an avionics engineer licensed for 717's. They're old af and I hate them. We buy spare parts from wrecks sitting in the desert. You've got nothing to worry about though. Planes be planes.

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Guess what day I will no longer fly on

>>1135586
>Where should I start?

Whatever you want to do.

>>1136033
>bad fuel can jam throttles
How? I can't figure that one out.

>>1135586
23 year old with an interest for planes and nothing else in my life.
Is it worth trying or is it going to be impossible to get a job?

Half the pilots say do it.
The other half say don't.
The articles and magazines say 'muh pilot shortage' but the forums are full of bitter pilots who are furloughed.

Am I fucked?

>>1136747
dude, if that's your only interest, don't you think you will regret it all your life if you don't pursue it? just do it!

>>1136771
That's why I'm asking a pilot who has experience in the field.

>no money no family
>get 80k loan for flight school
>few years later can't get job because no jerbs
>28 no education, useless qualifications
>start working construction or mcdonalds with a 80k loan

I'm fucking scared of that.

>>1131276
guys r more likeli to die on the way to teh airport then on the plen

>>1136737
Oh well, a golden one was the one time I flew to a airstrip that wasn't used for about 10 years...
I was welcomed by people shooting arrows at my plane during approach, turns out some indigenous tribe guys thought my plane would be a great catch of the day kek.
Always a pleasure to fly in shitholes

>>1136747
It's worth it if you're crazy enough to take any opportunity and are not afraid to live in a shitty tent for 2-3 months in a complete shithole, pass your cv to any charter company, pop in there daily and ask for flights what ever just to get contacts and hope they remember you once they need a backup pilot or a batch of their senior pilots get a job with bigger companies...

>>1136791
You look at about 100k to get anything done. It's flight school and the crazy job hunt that will send you to some fucked up places.
I would do it every time again, but if you aren't a smart guy that is fit for flight school and are ready to jump into all kinds of shit better don't or hope a large carrier hires you.

>Posting from my phone, so I expect some autocorrect fuckups.

>>1136033
I flew back home from Tokyo on April 13 last year. FUKKEN MADE IT BRAH

>>1137012
>I was welcomed by people shooting arrows at my plane during approach
And here I thought Indiana Jones was hyperbole.

This is like one of those awesome bar stories you hear being told by the grizzled old man in the corner.

>>1137186
Well bro I can top that bro.
As it's Sunday night have a special...
Landed at some strip in Congo with cargo, my chief pilot of that time looked over the unloading, suddenly yells
>start the engine and ready for takeoff
>what? Okay....
He pushed out anything left onboard, closed the door and yelled
>get us out, full throttle, go go go
Meanwhile shots fired everywhere and some guys closing in on us...
>max throttle, takeoff without any checks and departed..
some local gurillia group tried to take us hostage...
As we departed we could watch a fire fight between some "government" and gurillia forces on the airstrip.
The plane got hit a few times but nothing critical.

>>1137324
Damn, that's wild. Did you guys leave your engines running next time you flew there?

If the pilot anon is still around, I've got a question.
I'm 22 years old with a mild interest on aviation, looking to become a pilot via the company baby route. Just read through the article on the flight 447 crash and that got me a bit spooked. Should I do some supplementary flying on the side so I would be better prepared for unexpected situations?

>>1137426
>Should I do some supplementary flying on the side
Not even a pilot but I would. More education and practice in any field is beneficial.

>>1137351
That isn't an option as
>we needed to conserve fuel, it's not like you can refuel at those airstrips
>those people are so retarded they would walk straight into the spinning prop while unloading cargo or someone would casually try to grab it like whoa what dis spinny-nosiy-shiny-thingy, I want. fuq.
It would ground any plane for weeks on a daily base as it takes forever to get a mechanic and parts to one of those strips.

>>1137426
>I'm 22 years old with a mild interest on aviation, looking to become a pilot via the company baby route.
If it's only a mild interest this might not be the right job for you bro. Anyway best of luck.
>Just read through the article on the flight 447 crash and that got me a bit spooked.
You should be spooked, as that's what happens if pilots think the computer will handle everything for them.
> Should I do some supplementary flying on the side
Yes you should.
Get as many hours on the small planes as you can (PC-6, Cessna 172/182 or any other single engine plane where you have to do everything on your own) and always go back and fly them again.
I fly my private PC-12 at least every other week and do a 5h small-plane flying session with different flight school instructors on different planes every 3 months.
>It's all about refreshing the basics, staying on top of your game and getting reminded of things to consider you got lazy about as the computer usually does it for you.
It's the small things that count.

>>1136737
I forgot to answer this one...
>How? I can't figure that one out.
Imagine you drive a brand new Ferrari with strict oil and fuel regulations. You have to refuel and instead of the regulation specific stuff they load you with some moonshine shit that got contaminated with any thing you could imagine.
As soon as you go to the maxes your engine will blow the fuck up.
>It can't burn fuel at the needed rate
>it can't keep the needed pressure up for your engine
>it can't keep up with the flow rate
>all your shit overheats and underperforms
>dry runs will lead to structural engine damage in no time
Congratulation you downgraded your Ferrari to a shit tier lawnmower.

>>1137721

Thanks, pilot bro. I'm going for my discovery flight later this week; I'll find out if I've got a real interest in it or not.

>>1137734
I'm an idiot. It clogs fuel injectors/carbs.

>>1137770
how did it go?

>>1137770
Hope you had a good time bro.

>>1138151
Exactly, sorry for explaining it in a way a idiot could understand it.

>>1137770
Dammit, they never come back

>>1139231
>sorry for explaining it in a way a idiot could understand it.

Cut me a break m8, I was falling asleep. I gave my mea cupla. I could've been a dick and shit up the thread with autistic denial.