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To be fair, they are trained to handle the emergency first and talk second (The axiom “Aviate, Navigate, Communicate” teaches pilots to fly the airplane first,
by saberdancer 5y ago
To be fair, they are trained to handle the emergency first and talk second (The axiom “Aviate, Navigate, Communicate” teaches pilots to fly the airplane first, then navigate, and once the situation is under control, communicate.). If it was a rapid situation and co-pilot was not available it's not impossible that the call was not made.
More damning is the timing of the transponder being turned off. It happened on ATC switchover.
- smashah 5y agoDuring pilot training, you're taught to use the axiom when time is slim and there's a lot to do. There's no way to aviate for 6 hours straight on an airliner and not have time to communicate. The mayday call takes all of 10 seconds to make for a single person. Sully was in a time crunch and still communicated which isn't a super human feat.
- saberdancer 5y agoYes, I am aware. But if we take things to extreme, it's possible there was a urgent situation (fire in the cockpit) that the pilot did not have time to communicate before losing the ability.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- awb 5y agoBut the plane maneuvered several times after that with power going off and back on.
- smashah 5y agoOk I will put myself in your hypothetical. If there was a fire in the cockpit of my cessna, I would try my best to suppress the fire and instruct the other pilot to make a mayday call. Communication becomes a bit higher priority when the situation is that dire where no amount of "aviating" would make much difference. This is one of those things where we never find out the truth unfortunately.
- saberdancer 5y agoI am just playing the devils advocate. If there was some sudden emergency, fire in the cockpit while copilot was outside, it is possible that the pilot wouldn't have time to communicate before losing the ability. But if we take everything into consideration, three additional turns, direction where the plane went, exact moment when the plane lost it's transponder, ... - the most likely explanation is pilot suicide.
- SiempreViernes 5y agoSure, but why would the plane fly fine if the cockpit is dramatically on fire? I doubt the automated systems fly plane good if the circuit breakers are all in the "on fire" state.