Rubani aokoa abiria 109, ndege yatua kwenye majani

NI ajabu lakini kweli, unaweza kusema vyovyote unavyoweza, lakini mimi nasema, mwacheni Mungu aitwe Mungu.

Nasema hivyo kwa sababu naamini kwamba, ndiye aliyewapa ujasiri marubani wa ndege ya United Airlines, Airbus 319 wakaweza kuiongoza ndege hadi ikatua kwa dharura baada ya mfumo WOTE wa utendaji wa ndege hiyo kufa wakati ikiwa angani dakika 20 baada ya kuruka katika uwanja wa ndege wa Louis Armstrong huko New Orleans, Marekani jana asubuhi.

Baada ya mfumo huo kufa, moshi ulianza kujaa kwenye chumba cha marubani hivyo walitafuta uwezekano wa kurudi uwanjani lakini hawakuwa na uwezo wa kujua wapo wapi, umbali gani kutoka juu, mwendo kasi, hali ya hewa, hivyo walitegemea miujiza tu.

Walikuwa angani lakini hawakufahamu walikuwa wapi, na umbali gani kutoka uwanjani au umbali gani kutoka ardhini, kwa bahati, waliweza kupata mawasiliano ya simu na mwongozaji ndege uwanjani, akawa anawaeleza waende kushoto au kulia, chini, chini, chini chini na waangalie alama wanazoweza kuzitambua ili wajue wapo wapi.

Kwa kuwa mfumo wote wa ndege hiyo ulikuwa umekufa, ilimaanisha kuwa hata ingefika uwanjani isingeweza kusimama kwa kutumia mfumo wa kawaida wa breki hivyo marubani walilazimika kutumia mfumo wa dharura (backup system) ulio nyuma ya ndege hiyo, Mungu akawasaidia ikatua kwenye majani ikiwa na kiasi kikubwa cha mafuta kwa sababu ilikuwa na safari ndefu.

Pata kitu kizima hapo chini

The pilots of a United Airlines flight were forced to land 'blind' when smoke began to fill the cockpit after a massive instrument failure.

Flight 497, with 109 passengers on board, ran into difficulties at 7am yesterday, only 20 minutes after taking off from New Orleans' Louis Armstrong airport.

Dramatic voice recordings of the pilot talking to air traffic controllers show how the ground crew had to guide the aircraft in via voice instruction as the pilots battled to steer the crippled plane home.

Speaking after the miraculous landing, Copilot Ronald Lee Young said the Airbus 319 landed on backup systems, with minimal steering and braking ability, after the plane lost all electronics.

He said:'When things start to go wrong, there’s always a system … we can go back to.'

FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said he had not been told about any electronic failure.

He said the pilot had declared an emergency because of smoke in the cockpit.

To make matters worse, the plane was heavy with fuel for the cross-country flight.

When the plane landed, the crew said the aircraft had lost its anti-skid braking and nose-wheel steering, and ran off the runway.

Lucky: Passengers fortunate to be alive look back at the crashed plane. Copilot Ronald Lee Young said he landed on backup systems Investigation: An official looks out from the doorway of the plane.

An investigation has been launched into what went wrong As soon as the plane was on the ground, flight attendants shouted 'Leave everything. Get out' as passengers slid down the front and back slides.

Minutes from disaster, hero pilots are heard talking calmly to ground staff Pilot: 'United 497, we've lost all our instruments.'

Controller: 'United 497, just continue the left turn, I will tell you when to stop, sir.'Pilot: 'We've got water contact.'

The incident comes after Southwest Airlines announced that the company expected to cancel 70 more flights, or two per cent of its Monday schedule, as it inspected older planes for cracks in the fuselage.

The airline cancelled about 600 flights and grounded 79 planes over the weekend after a Boeing 737-300 jet sprang a five-foot hole in the roof shortly after take off from Phoenix on Friday - forcing an emergency landing.

Voice recordings of the United incident made by liveatc.net, show the pilots calmly reporting smoke in the cockpit.

The pilot at first calmly tells controllers on the ground: 'United 497, we are declaring an emergency.'

But very quickly the situation becomes far worse, and can be heard in the background the pilot declares: 'United 497, we've lost all our instruments.'

Stricken: Passengers were told to get away from the crashed plane as soon as they could

Survivors: Australian tourists Peter Maroni, left, and Dani Marano recount their experience aboard a United Airlines flight. After exiting the plane, Marano called her mother to let her know she was safe

The pilots were flying 'blind', and with a catastrophic instrument failure, had no way of getting back to the airport on their own.

Air traffic controllers then resorted to guiding the plane turn-by-turn via land marks such as the Mississippi river.

A controller tells the stricken pilots: 'United 497, just continue the left turn, I will tell you when to stop, sir.'

The pilot responds: 'We've got water contact. What vector are we from the airport.'

To make matters worse, the pilots needed the longest runway possible as their backup systems did not have the stopping power available under normal conditions.

Unfortunately, runway 19 - the airport's longest - had construction work going on and was full of safety cones and vehicles.

Ground crews then had race against time to clear the runway as the stricken plane rapidly approached.A ground crewman on runway 19 can be heard saying: 'We need three minutes to get the runway clear.'

Just before landing, and after talking the pilots back to the airport for nearly 10 minutes, the air traffic controller asks: 'You going to make it sir.'

Showing incredible calm, the pilot responds simply: 'Yes.'

Passenger Jonathan Woods said: 'It's scary up until the point I got off the plane and started running.'I didn't know how much fuel was on the plane is what worried me.

'The FAA has launched a full investigation into the incident.