In article
,
dpb wrote:

On Jan 16, 8:21*am, Smitty Two wrote:
...
As far as the pilot being a hero, sure, he did a nice job. Any pilot
could have easily done the same thing. Planes fly perfectly well without
engine power. Only caveat is, they fly a descending course.
...

That's utter BS about "any pilot" and "easily". The descending course
from perhaps 8000-ft over the city that Airbus was "flying perfectly
well" w/o power is mostly flying just a little better than a rock--
they're not gliders.

That one would hope that any commercial pilot would be capable of the
feat is comforting thought if one flies; reality is far different.
Even whether this guy could duplicate the result is probably 50:50 at
best; undoubtedly his chances of getting it to the ditching spot would
be pretty good but the ditching itself would be a crapshoot to come
off that well.

The guy was outstanding (and I suspect, if asked, would say had some
luck on his side to boot)...

--

Uh huh. Obviously you aren't a pilot. Yep, planes *are* gliders. Every
single one of them, regardless of size. They absolutely fly perfectly
well without power. If they didn't, you'd never be able to land one.

The fact that he was at 8000 ft, if he was, makes the off-field landing
easier: more time to select a landing spot and maneuver to it.

Engine outs are so common that in small planes they aren't even
considered an emergency. Commercial pilots practice constantly for such
occurrences.