Thank you, Mr. United Airlines pilot whoever you are for landing safely in zero visibility last Tuesday. You couldn?t see a thing outside the window, but I could feel the plane going down, and down. Another airline pilot was riding as a passenger next to me, and he had one of those looks you wear when you?re not supposed to let fear show. The pilot had to have been flying on instruments alone. Suddenly, with no warning, we hit the runway. After unclenching every muscle in my body starting with my stomach, I started breathing again. Apparently my connecting flight was also on one of the last planes to be allowed to leave Denver airport before it closed.
Glad you made it in one piece.
Gotta love those landings you can walk away from.
A few years ago flying out to Silver City, New Mexico for work in a Cessna 340 we spent most of the flight dodging thunderstorms. Fairly bouncy but no one got sick. I busied myself taking video of ice forming on the wings and tail. Fortunately the de-icing boots were functional so every few seconds they’d pulse and break off the thin layer of ice. We came out of the clouds about five miles off course right next to the smokestack from the Chino Mine smelter, a bit of a suprise. When we landed the pilots were extremely quite and looked a little spooked.
Technically, if the visibility is zero, you should be thanking the autopilot as it was the only thing flying the plane to the ground.
Not to take away from your good feelings after your flight, but instrument landings are routine in commercial aviation.
As part of the ATP test required to become a captain at most airlines, the applicant must fly an instrument approach with one engine shut down.
If it was 0/0 (no forward visibility and clouds to the ground) the approach was probably a Category III, which means the autopilot did it with the pilot monitoring. Pretty amazing stuff.
Probably wasn’t 0/0 if his connecting flight was able to takeoff. But even a Cat 1 approach to minimums can seem like 0/0 to a passenger looking out the side window.
Instrument approaches are amazing things.