# Plane lands on its belly: good photo **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 18, 2007, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432 "2007-06-18T05:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/1 "2007-06-18T05:31:33Z")
[Link here](http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4099375a6000.html) to a good photo of an aeroplane performing an emergency landing on its belly in Blenheim in New Zealand this morning. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/2 "2007-06-18T05:50:56Z")
A friend of mine who is a GA pilot has told me it’s part of the Pilot Code: “Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.” In this case I think the passengers would disagree. Vehemently. And very loudly. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/3 "2007-06-18T06:31:54Z")
I’ve flown in those type of planes. Within the last month an’ all. Such was going through my mind as I watched the video on the news tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/4 "2007-06-18T06:54:19Z")
[QUOTE=flodnak] A friend of mine who is a GA pilot has told me it’s part of the Pilot Code: “Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.” In this case I think the passengers would disagree. Vehemently. And very loudly. [/QUOTE] Yes, but a great landing is when you can reuse the airplane. From the pilot’s handbook: If it requires full power to taxi to the terminal, you probably landed with the gear up. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/5 "2007-06-18T07:21:11Z")
[QUOTE=flodnak] In this case I think the passengers would disagree. Vehemently. And very loudly. [/QUOTE] If I was a passenger I would agree. Alive? Check. Good landing. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/6 "2007-06-18T08:12:37Z")
I would disagree. Merely being able to walk away alive doesn’t score above “poor, but better than the alternative, therefore acceptable” in my book. The pilot’s handling of a mechanical failure beyond his control may be ‘good’ or even ‘excellent’ in these sorts of cases, but in terms of my experience as a passenger, ‘good’ is reserved for use when I at least moderately enjoyed everything that happened. ---
**Author:** ![GawnFishin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@GawnFishin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GawnFishin)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/7 "2007-06-18T14:45:39Z")
What you wouldn’t enjoy being alive and walking away from such a landing? You must be really hard to please. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/8 "2007-06-18T14:48:01Z")
If I was a passenger I’d be darn grateful that the pilot had the skill to land the plane under these conditions without any injuries. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/9 "2007-06-18T14:49:35Z")
[QUOTE=GawnFishin’] What you wouldn’t enjoy being alive and walking away from such a landing? You must be really hard to please. 😃 [/QUOTE] Perhaps, but I prefer to reserve the word ‘good’ for experiences about which I might also say “let’s do that again sometime”. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/10 "2007-06-18T15:00:29Z")
I remember flying through a thunderstorm so bad that the entire plane burst into spontaneous applause when we landed. Would I want to do that again? Hell, no! Was it a good flight/landing? Damn right it was. We got down safely in spite of my vivid memories of seeing lightning hitting the wings while we were in the storm. I never did learn if it did any damage, but I’d rather not know, frankly! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/11 "2007-06-18T16:00:33Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] [Link here](http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4099375a6000.html) to a good photo of an aeroplane performing an emergency landing on its belly in Blenheim in New Zealand this morning. [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > A Fire Service spokesman said the plane, with 15 passengers and two crew, had problems with its undercarriage. Just looking at the picture, I’m having problems with **my** undercarriage. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/12 "2007-06-18T17:22:31Z")
[QUOTE=BobLibDem] If I was a passenger I’d be darn grateful that the pilot had the skill to land the plane under these conditions without any injuries. [/QUOTE] No unusual skill is needed, and pilots are trained for this sort of thing. It’s also fair to add that once the plane is skidding on its belly the pilot has little to no control and luck is a factor. The photo is impressive - catches bits of the propellors flying through the air. ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plane-lands-on-its-belly-good-photo/408432/13 "2007-06-18T18:19:53Z")
This is why I’m glad I fly a fixed-gear plane. Of course, I’ll eat those words the next time I ask my right-seat passenger before landing: “do we still have a wheel on your side?” and the answer is no!