A UK military transport plane carrying 198 people experienced a terrifying negative-G dive after the captain's personal DSLR camera became wedged between the sidestick and armrest, forcing the controls fully forward.
The sudden dive, reaching nearly 16,000 feet per minute, injured two dozen passengers and several crew members who were thrown to the ceiling.
A catastrophe was averted by the fast-thinking co-pilot who, upon re-entering the cockpit, managed to scramble across the ceiling and regain control, dislodging the camera 33 seconds after the dive began.
Investigators concluded that only the co-pilot's actions and the aircraft's automated systems prevented a crash, contradicting the captain's initial report of an "autopilot anomaly."
Imagine scrambling across the ceiling of your Airbus A330’s cockpit during a terrifying negative-G dive to reach your pilot seat and avert disaster in the nick of time.
That’s just what happened after the captain of a UK military transport plane nearly caused a crash when his personal digital SLR camera became wedged between the airplane’s sidestick and armrest.
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