Miraculous Plane Landing

Discovery Channel has a range of interesting shows and they often make for very good viewing. (Man vs Wild rocks!). But i caught another good one last Thursday night - 'Secrets of Survival'.

This particular episode detailed the story of 'Andy Judy', a skydiver who got trapped in air, upside down, when one of his feet got stuck on the plane's wing. He was up in the air for 40 minutes, at 10,500 ft, weathering wind speeds of 100 mph. He survived with only minor bruises. But how did he get out of this situation?

Well, the pilot landed the Cessna 182, with Andy still hanging upside down on the plane. He had to do it, after his other efforts of setting him free failed. Initially he tried shaking up the plane. Later he tried to cut the stuck cord with a pen, after leaving his seat and reaching out as far as he could without losing the control of the plane. In all these efforts, he lost his glasses as well!

Finally, when there was no other option, the pilot decided to land the bird. It meant Andy would touch down first, and if he survived the landing impact, he would slide until the plane stops.

Imagine you are the pilot (not with a perfect eyesight), and someone else's life depends on your skill under an extreme situation that you are not used to on an every day basis.

The pilot landed the plane on the grass strip besides the actual runway, at a speed of 40mph and stopped the plane covering a distance of only 60ft. This extraordinary bit of pilot's skill saved Andy's life. If your landing speed is too low, the plane can lose the lift and hit down the ground with a thud. And generally the landing speed for this Cessna is 70mph. Had he landed at that speed, it might have meant the end of the guy's life.

Great skill and calmness! Take a bow.