The only time I really cared what type of plane I was on was on a return trip from Wyoming. The commercial jet I boarded was designed so that passengers were jammed tightly into seats so cramped that I felt claustrophobic, and I have never before or since had such an experience. If we’d needed to evacuate during an emergency it could’ve been a disaster.
If ever I take another vacation trip that involves a similar smaller airport destination, I’m going to check on the type of plane before making a reservation.
I’m interested in aircraft, have enjoyed a few air shows, like watching them perform in YouTube videos, and even took one flying lesson.
But I typically have no idea what kind of aircraft I’m on. I might notice the manufacturer’s name, if it’s displayed on much inside. Typically that’s it.
And it’s no wonder. Passenger aircraft and airports seem to be designed to prevent any contact between the jet and the passengers, so to speak. The details are hidden safely away so we don’t get our pretty little heads all upset about them.
I’d be much likelier to notice what make and model bus I’m riding on. A bus, you walk up to it, you see the wheels, you walk past the driver, we all drive cars and could probably figure out how to get a bus rolling down the road (even if we tended to hit things with it). And with all of that, I’m not going to know the make and model, anyway.
I know the flight number I’m on. And the gate. And the time. And the destination. That’s where my attention winds up.
I am an A&P mechanic & a pilot. I worked for Boeing & helped build Air Force One. That fact & $2.50 will buy me a cup of coffee at the local cafe. OK, OK, coffee costs $2.50 anyway.
I always know what make & model of aircraft I am on. I almost always know what make & model the engine(s) are. I usually know what the model designations mean as well.
These days I fly the smaller prop planes. Usually I am one of the pilots.
I recently read this excellent write-up of that accident - it appears the pilot attempted to pin the blame on the fly by wire system to try and save his own skin:
Many thanks for that - a nicely written, non-sensationalist piece that explained a lot.
I must clarify - I did not mean to imply I didn’t like to fly on an A319/320/321 (and they’re very hard to avoid in Europe) but that 4 or 5 secs of the video of the plane gracefully flying into the trees can just pop into mind when entering the main cabin.
When I make the reservation I look at seatguru. As most my flying is within Europe and to the U.S., most of the planes are Airbus, with a Saab or Embraer to mix it up a bit (Loganair).
I remember seeing bumper stickers when I was growing, “If it’s not Boeing, I’m not going.” When I was younger I would be disappointed if the plane I was on wasn’t a Boeing. Got over that a long time ago.
That is a well written piece.
It’s obvious to me that, as soon as he realized the spectators were along the grass runway (not the paved one, as he’d expected),the pilot should have held altitude at 2000 ft, flown a gentle circle, and done the low pass on a second attempt, now with a longer, slower-descent approach (engines at higher power), and now aware that the low pass would have to be a bit higher than 100 feet (trees start closer to end of this runway), and the time spent at that high angle of attack (before initiating TOGO thrust) would have to be shorter than originally planned (this runway shorter than the paved one).
That would have been easy to do, it seems to me. Overconfident he could adjust on the fly to the unexpected conditions…a confidence derived from a mix of the pilot’s personality and experience, and the fly-by-wire idea that it was impossible to exceed tolerances (true enough — but terrain is terrain).
I always know, because I always read the safety card. If it’s noted on my boarding pass or when I choose seats I’ll reemember the type, and I have a reasonably good degree of knowledge of them. I have flown a lot.
It’s quite an ironic accident really. He intended to demonstrate, or make use of, the aircraft’s fly-by-wire flight protections. Yet he disconnected the autothrust to begin with and then flew below 100’ which disabled the aircraft’s Alpha Floor protection.
I used to care what type of airplane I was on, but airlines changed their seat configurations so often that in the end that’s mainly what I paid attention to. Thank goodness for seatguru, and for that large army of people who like to do extended videos or blog posts about the seating configurations and amenities of different airlines/aircraft.
Reading the report further, it does say he intentionally disconnected the Alpha Floor protection. I’m not sure why it later makes the point that Alpha Floor wasn’t available below 100’, which is the paragraph I was referencing. Adding to my confusion is the fact that Alpha Floor can’t be deactivated in the same way anymore, or at least they don’t tell us A320 pilots how to do it.
It is quite amazing really, that he thought it was totally fine to fly the aircraft at very low level, right on the limit of its capabilities, with a load of passengers on board. It wasn’t even all that impressive, from a spectators point of view, until it mushed into the trees. A high speed pass would have been far safer and far more spectacular. Instead he did a nerd’s pass, where the only people who think it is particularly remarkable are the few extreme aviation nerds who have some idea that it is flying at a high angle of attack.
With the engines at idle it wouldn’t even have been noisy. If you’re going to be slow, you have to be noisy, otherwise no one really cares. Spoken as someone who spent too much time hanging around airshows and airshow pilots in his youth.
That 707 pass just posted by LSLGuy looked exceptionally low and slow - unfortunately some fool had added mediocre rock music, so it was hard to tell if it was also loud!
Not that I fly much at all, but back when I did, I typically flew Southwest, so I always knew I was on a 737 of some stripe. And when I wasn’t flying SWA, I usually paid attention when I booked the flight so I could check SeatGuru. And finally, I’m that dork who always takes a glance at the seat-back safety card showing how to get out in an emergency, and they always have the make/model of plane on them.
So yeah, I always know what sort of airplane I’m on.
