A lot has been written over the past few years about pilots relying on the automation to fly the airplane to the detriment of actual hands-on-the-stick piloting skills. I have long been baffled by pilots’ reliance on the autopilot. But perhaps this attitude comes from my Air Force training early on and particularly from a black, black night at low altitude over the Atlantic Ocean. In October 1973, the war in Vietnam was winding to a close. For the previous three years or so, I had been flying the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter to Southeast Asia and all over the Pacific Ocean, supporting the US missions in that part of the world. Then, a new crisis: Israel had once again been attacked by Egypt, and the Air Force was tasked with supplying arms to Israel.
Final Turn in the Azores
Key Takeaways:
- The author recounts a perilous flight during the 1973 Yom Kippur War airlift, where a C-141 Starlifter experienced a malfunction in its elevator artificial-feel system.
- During a night landing approach, an autopilot and autothrottle-assisted maneuver led to an unexpected nose-up pitch and a dangerous loss of airspeed, nearing a stall.
- The pilot had to disengage automation and manually recover the aircraft by applying fundamental instrument flying skills in near-zero visibility conditions.
- The incident highlighted that even advanced automation can exhibit "rookie errors" and reinforced the critical importance of hands-on piloting skills and understanding basic aerodynamics beyond system reliance.
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