Quote:
Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed
Stories like that one should be useful for reassuring scared passengers. Pilots are extremely well trained.
At Gimli, the pilot executed a manoeuvre (forward slip) that he had never before attempted, even in a glider (he was a glider pilot), or in simulation, and executed it perfectly - without the use of most of his instruments. If he didn't execute it perfectly, there's a good chance that many to all of the people on board die.
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I am very certain that Capt. Bob Pearson had performed forward slips before. They are actually a very common maneuver for glider pilots to lose altitude quickly (it is also taught to private pilot students).
He had most certainly never forward slipped an airliner before.
Forward slips are pretty cool, you are in essence cross controlling between the ailerons and rudder to force a side of the aircraft into the direction of flight, making the plane itself act like a big speed brake. You then lower the nose to maintain airspeed and watch the plane start descending very quickly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_slip#Forward-slip