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January 20, 2008
Hunt for fatal flaw of Flight 38 - Times Online
Inside the cockpit of BA038 Coward and Burkill had no time to issue a Mayday, no time to warn passengers to brace. In the few remaining seconds they just fought to keep the plane flying.
The failure of the engines had cut the main power. The 777 does not have cables connecting wing flaps and rudder to the pilots’ controls. It is all done by sending electronic signals. However, the plane has several back-up batteries that enable the instruments to work until the emergency power units kick in.
“If they had done nothing, the autopilot would have tried to fly the glide path,” said a former pilot. The plane would probably then have stalled and crashed. “So they have to lower the nose to maintain speed, then lift it just before hitting the ground.”
Coward, who lives in Valbonne in the south of France with his wife, said yesterday that he had thought it was “the end” for him - that the plane would land with an “almighty crash”. He added that “some thanks has to go to the man upstairs for giving us that little lift at the end”.
Hunt for fatal flaw of Flight 38 - Times Online
Posted by thdyck at January 20, 2008 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 8, 2008
Healthy living 'can add 14 years'
Taking exercise, not drinking too much alcohol, eating enough fruit and vegetables and not smoking can add up to 14 years to your life, a study says.
Research involving 20,000 people over a decade found those who failed on all criteria were four times more likely to have died than those who succeeded.
The findings held true regardless of how overweight or poor they were.
The Public Library of Science Medicine study suggests many could increase their lifespan through simple changes.
Healthy living 'can add 14 years'
Posted by thdyck at January 8, 2008 | Comments (0) | TrackBack