Cited on HN 3 times, 2018–2022, never outright recommendedscore 0
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
Linked as a primary source recording for the reversed-controls incident in aviation safety discussions.
Real air traffic control audio of the Air Astana flight whose flight controls had been wired in reverse by a maintenance error. The pilots struggle to keep control while ATC tries to help.
“Amazing story about an airliner that took off not knowing its controls had been reversed” (HN, 2022)
Slightly off-topic: This is an ATC recording where pilots lost control over the aircraft. Figuring out what to do when the aircraft goes to random directions, they ask for the direction of the ocean to ditch in. Because of low visibility they have no idea where they are going. The description suggests that during maintenance, some steering control was attached in the wrong way. [this video] In this case, the pilots have like an hour to figure out how to control the aircraft.
ATC recording of aircraft with crossed flight controls
"How This Aircraft Flew Two Hours With No Controls" ( Air Astana Flight 1388 ) [link] 00:00 - Intro 00:27 - Chapter 1: Routine Maintenance 01:43 - Chapter 2: Cable Issues 02:48 - Chapter 3: Roll Axis 03:40 - Chapter 4: A Hybrid Aircraft 04:41 - Chapter 5: The Crew 05:16 - Chapter 6: The Flight Crew 05:52 - Chapter 7: Pre-Flight 06:53 - Chapter 8: Taxi 07:47 - Chapter 9: Takeoff 08:46 - Chapter 10: Rollercoaster From Hell 10:25 - Chapter 11: The Ride Continues 14:38 - Chapter 12: Two's Company 15:59 - Chapter 13: Landing Attempt 1 16:54 - Chapter 14: Landing Attempt 2 17:22 - Chapter 15: Third Time Lucky? 18:07 - Chapter 16: Sickbags At The Ready 19:01 - Final Chapter: What Went Wrong? Air Astana Flight 1388 [link] "While all on board were shaken, there were no injuries apart from one passenger who suffered a leg injury." This must be the understatement of the century if you look into the details of what the crew went through. VASAviation Video: [this video] Final Report: [link]
Sure, if you trust the correctness of the computer's software with your life and the lives of any passengers. There are popular apps now that do some of what you suggest, especially trip planning. I've seen enough bugs in my day job to want to at least verify the computer's work and have backup instruments, even if just my own senses. Aerospace software is known for relatively low bug counts[1] but also causing fatal crashes[2]. I trust my car controls to be correct and if they aren't I can brake to a stop if anything else seems off. (Unless of course the brakes stop working!) But since you have to take off to fly, you might not realize you can't control the plane until it's already at dangerous speeds.[3] 1: [link] 2: See [link] sections on Space, Military, and Transportation for examples. 3: Amazing story about an airliner that took off not knowing its controls had been reversed (a maintenance mistake). Pilots declared "MAYDAY plane is completely uncontrollable we plan to ditch" but eventually figured out how to fly the reversed controls and landed it safely—super impressive. [this video]
Example of a plane flown with reversed controls from maintenance error
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![Frame from [REAL ATC] Air Astana has SERIOUS FLIGHT CONTROL ISSUES!](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kIc8Rr-cKd8/hq2.jpg)
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