Remind me never to be in a plane

[jody]

when they are refuelling in the air. Watch the video.

www.mandatory.com/2012/10/29/near-collision-between-two-planes-while-refueling/?ncid=webmail25

Air-to-air refueling operations are very common and routine. However, as you'll see in the video above, things don't always go as smoothly as they are supposed to. The pilot flying the tanker must have seen his life flash before his eyes the moment the above NATO E-3 Sentry got a little too close, almost resulting in a collision. As you'll see, the two aircrafts narrowly escaped a total disaster, but not before some crew members were hurt and the aircraft itself was damaged.

[garfield]

How about this one

[Deleted]

Check these out, particularly the event at 1:04 -



Those aircrew earn their salaries.

[Deleted]

If your number is up, then your number is up and shit happens resulting in total oblivion for ever and ever and ever and ever.

If your number isn't up, then you'll get to talk about it.

End of story!

[jody]

That's all well and good KTJ but fears are very real...mine is flying. I at least still get on planes however....so my fear isn't as bad as some other peoples.

[Deleted]

I'll give you an example of that.

Yesterday, I began the day in Gisborne, then after lunch I boarded an aeroplane and flew up to Auckland to do a couple of things. After getting back to Auckland Airport, I boarded an Air NZ evening flight to Masterton. The aeroplane was a 19-seat Beech B1900D airliner, operated by two pilots but no cabin crew. About half-way through the takeoff run, an unusual vibration started about half-way back through the cabin (foward of where I was sitting) accompanied by multiple banging sounds very similar to if you are driving a car at speed along a gravel road with stones bitting the underside of the car. The vibration and sounds continued during the climbout and departure from Auckland. I quickly determined it wasn't a structural issue, as the aeroplane appeared to be flying in perfect trim and there was no sign of any unusual activity in the cockpit, however some of the passengers began to get a wee bit alarmed about it. So as soon as we got above the turbulence, I released my seat-belt (even though the seat-belt sign was still illuminated) and went foward to the vicinity of where the noise was coming from to try and work out what it was. It appeared to me to be either coming from inside the air-conditioning duct along the wall just above the floor, or else perhaps a slightly loose inspection panel on the outside of the airliner. However, in order to try to put some of the alarmed passengers minds at rest, I volunteered to go foward and inform the flight-deck crew. I approached the cockpit and determined that the First Officer was flying the aeroplane, so I put myself in a position where the Captain would see me and indicated I wished to speak to her. She removed her headset and motioned me foward into the cockpit and I explained what the problem was and I thought was causing it and also the fact that some of the passengers were a wee bit alarmed. So she thanked me for drawing it to her attention and asked me to go back and reassure the passengers in the cabin that the aeroplane was handling perfectly with no trim issues and that she would come back and investigate it after talking with the company engineering base and once they were out of the Auckland traffic area (which is fairly busy at that time of day). About five minutes later, she came back into the cabin and checked it out and decided it was most likely something lose inside the airconditioning duct, or possibly the plastic trim around the wing root, neither of which would affect the safe operation of the aeroplane. She then returned to the cockpit and consulted further with Air NZ's engineering base, then returned to the cabin and talked to the passengers over it and managed to put everyone at ease and we carried on to Masterton. No big deal....if it had been a major problem, then perhaps our number would have been up, but there was no big drama and our number wasn't up. Shit happens. While taxiied in at Masterton, the Captain was first off the aeroplane and as I was getting off, she called me over and showed me what the problem was. One clip was broken on the plastic trim around the wing root and the vibration and noise was the end of the trim flapping in the airflow. Like I said, no big drama and everyone got to talk about it. No doubt, the aeroplane would have flown back to Auckland this morning with the end of the trim taped into place and Air NZ engineering would have permanently fixed the problem in a matter of minutes.

[Deleted]

yawn

[Deleted]

Oct 30, 2012 16:03:35 GMT 10 @skippy said:

yawn

Well if you're yawning in the middle of the afternoon (which it must be in Western Australia) then you are ripping off your employer by not being alert enough to do your job properly. In other words, you are STEALING your wages.

[Deleted]

Oct 30, 2012 16:20:34 GMT 10 kiwithrottlejockey said:

Oct 30, 2012 16:03:35 GMT 10 @skippy said:

yawn

Well if you're yawning in the middle of the afternoon (which it must be in Western Australia) then you are ripping off your employer by not being alert enough to do your job properly. In other words, you are STEALING your wages.

You can speculate all you like but I'm not STEALING anything from anyone.

[Deleted]

Oct 30, 2012 16:55:43 GMT 10 @skippy said:

Oct 30, 2012 16:20:34 GMT 10 kiwithrottlejockey said:

Well if you're yawning in the middle of the afternoon (which it must be in Western Australia) then you are ripping off your employer by not being alert enough to do your job properly. In other words, you are STEALING your wages.

You can speculate all you like but I'm not STEALING anything from anyone.

LIAR

[Deleted]

Oh how so Kiwi?

Please explain?