Plane crash in Kent

[Churchill]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7321589.stm

No survivors...

I think if I had loads of dosh I would just fly first class everywhere rather than rely on monkeys to keep a private jet in the air.

Who do you think maintains the aircraft you fly first class in?

[HRH]

It said there was a video of this, does anyone have footage?

[Churchill]

It said there was a video of this, does anyone have footage?

To what end?

Are you going to provide us with an in-depth analysis drawing on your years of piloting experience?

FFS!

[Peoplesoft bloke]

I knew one of the guys involved, although not well. Had dinner at his house once, and he showed me his car collection. Very sad, he was a really really nice guy.

If I had the cash, I'd fly this way in preference to First Class (I speak as a nervous but fairly frequent flyer), but I doubt he was paying in any case. A lot of these kind of flights are as the guest of someone else.

[sasguru]

Who do you think maintains the aircraft you fly first class in?

Exactly ...she's not too bright, what?

[PAH]

A mate of mine is an engineer who maintains helicopters. As someone who's on the inside it worries me that he really really hates flying. I've certainly become a more nervous flyer since all those air crash investigation programmes.

What happened to the idea of fitting these small airplanes and helicopters with parachutes to at least try to lessen the impact? Maybe it's a weight and velocity thing that makes it harder to implement than you'd expect.

[Churchill]

A mate of mine is an engineer who maintains helicopters. As someone who's on the inside it worries me that he really really hates flying. I've certainly become a more nervous flyer since all those air crash investigation programmes.

What happened to the idea of fitting these small airplanes and helicopters with parachutes to at least try to lessen the impact? Maybe it's a weight and velocity thing that makes it harder to implement than you'd expect.

The main problem is that most crashes happen as part of "take off" and landing where you wouldn't have sufficient altitude to deploy a parachute anyway.

Churchill - In "Height and speed are your friends" mode.

[Tensai]

What happened to the idea of fitting these small airplanes and helicopters with parachutes to at least try to lessen the impact? Maybe it's a weight and velocity thing that makes it harder to implement than you'd expect.

I did a parachute jump a few years back in NZ (over the Fox Glacier... superb experience, highly recommend it if anyone is into that kind of thing.) Anyway, I digress.... the instructor said he always carried his parachute as hand luggage whenever he got on a plane.

Problem is, unless the cabin is depressurised, you'd never get the door open at anything like crusing altitude. The shape of the door makes it damn near impossible. [Edit : ... and the fact that the pressure in the cabin is x times the external air pressure. HTH]

[threaded]

Talking of bailing out of airliners: I read a few days ago that some of the money, only a few notes, from that years-ago hi-jacker in America that bailed out and was never seen again has turned up.

[Churchill]

Talking of bailing out of airliners: I read a few days ago that some of the money, only a few notes, from that years-ago hi-jacker in America that bailed out and was never seen again has turned up.

There was an article in the Sunday Times Magazine last year about the guy they think pulled off the robbery.