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[planar1280]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/tec...really-happened-aboard-air-france-447-6611877


How confusion caused pilots to create chaos in the cockpit and the end result was a number of lives lost due to basic lack of understand of flying an aircraft. This was one of the biggest mysterious crashes in history as a highly innovative and technologically advanced aircraft just vanished within minutes with no warning. the flight recorder was found 2 years later

excerpts

At 2:02 am, the captain leaves the flight deck to take a nap. Within 15 minutes, everyone aboard the plane will be dead.]

02:03:44 (Bonin) La convergence inter tropicale… voilà, là on est dedans, entre 'Salpu' et 'Tasil.' Et puis, voilà, on est en plein dedans…
The inter-tropical convergence... look, we're in it, between 'Salpu' and 'Tasil.' And then, look, we're right in it...

The intertropical convergence, or ITC, is an area of consistently severe weather near the equator.

02:05:55 (Robert) Oui, on va les appeler derrière... pour leur dire quand même parce que...
Yes, let's call them in the back, to let them know...

Robert pushes the call button.

02:05:59 (flight attendant, heard on the intercom) Oui? Marilyn.
Yes? Marilyn.

02:06:04 (Bonin) Oui, Marilyn, c'est Pierre devant... Dis-moi, dans deux minutes, on devrait attaquer une zone où ça devrait bouger un peu plus que maintenant. Il faudrait vous méfier là.
Yes, Marilyn, it's Pierre up front... Listen, in 2 minutes, we're going to be getting into an area where things are going to be moving around a little bit more than now. You'll want to take care.

02:06:13 (flight attendant) D'accord, on s'assoit alors?
Okay, we should sit down then?

02:06:15 (Bonin) Bon, je pense que ce serait pas mal… tu préviens les copains!
Well, I think that's not a bad idea. Give your friends a heads-up.

02:06:18 (flight attendant) Ouais, OK, j'appelle les autres derrière. Merci beaucoup.
Yeah, okay, I'll tell the others in the back. Thanks a lot.

02:06:19 (Bonin) Mais je te rappelle dès qu'on est sorti de là.
I'll call you back as soon as we're out of it.

02:06:20 (flight attendant) OK.
Okay.

The two copilots discuss the unusually elevated external temperature, which has prevented them from climbing to their desired altitude

02:06:50 (Bonin) Va pour les anti-ice. C'est toujours ça de pris.
Let's go for the anti-icing system. It's better than nothing.

Because they are flying through clouds, the pilots turn on the anti-icing system to try to keep ice off the flight surfaces; ice reduces the plane's aerodynamic efficiency, weighs it down, and in extreme cases, can cause it to crash.

02:07:00 (Bonin) On est apparemment à la limite de la couche, ça devrait aller.
We seem to be at the end of the cloud layer, it might be okay.

In the meantime Robert has been examining the radar system and has found that it has not been set up in the correct mode. Changing the settings, he scrutinizes the radar map and realizes that they are headed directly toward an area of intense activity.

02:08:03 (Robert) Tu peux éventuellement le tirer un peu à gauche.
You can possibly pull it a little to the left.

02:08:05 (Bonin) Excuse-moi?
Sorry, what?

02:08:07 (Robert) Tu peux éventuellement prendre un peu à gauche. On est d'accord qu'on est en manuel, hein?
You can possibly pull it a little to the left. We're agreed that we're in manual, yeah?

Bonin wordlessly banks the plane to the left. Suddenly, a strange aroma, like an electrical transformer, floods the cockpit, and the temperature suddenly increases. At first, the younger pilot thinks that something is wrong with the air-conditioning system, but Robert assures him that the effect is from the severe weather in the vicinity.

02:10:06 (Bonin) J'ai les commandes.
I have the controls.

02:10:07 (Robert) D'accord.
Okay.

Perhaps spooked by everything that has unfolded over the past few minutes—the turbulence, the strange electrical phenomena, his colleague's failure to route around the potentially dangerous storm—Bonin reacts irrationally. He pulls back on the side stick to put the airplane into a steep climb, despite having recently discussed the fact that the plane could not safely ascend due to the unusually high external temperature.

02:10:07 (Robert) Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça?
What's this?

02:10:15 (Bonin) On n'a pas une bonne… On n'a pas une bonne annonce de vitesse.
There's no good... there's no good speed indication.

02:10:16 (Robert) On a perdu les, les, les vitesses alors?
We've lost the, the, the speeds, then?

The plane is soon climbing at a blistering rate of 7000 feet per minute. While it is gaining altitude, it is losing speed, until it is crawling along at only 93 knots, a speed more typical of a small Cessna than an airliner. Robert notices Bonin's error and tries to correct him.

02:10:27 (Robert) Faites attention à ta vitesse. Faites attention à ta vitesse.
Pay attention to your speed. Pay attention to your speed.

He is probably referring to the plane's vertical speed. They are still climbing.

02:10:28 (Bonin) OK, OK, je redescends.
Okay, okay, I'm descending.

02:10:30 (Robert) Tu stabilises...
Stabilize…

02:10:31 (Bonin) Ouais.
Yeah.

02:10:31 (Robert) Tu redescends... On est en train de monter selon lui… Selon lui, tu montes, donc tu redescends.
Descend... It says we're going up... It says we're going up, so descend.

02:10:35 (Bonin) D'accord.
Okay.

Thanks to the effects of the anti-icing system, one of the pitot tubes begins to work again. The cockpit displays once again show valid speed information.

02:10:36 (Robert) Redescends!
Descend!

02:10:37 (Bonin) C'est parti, on redescend.
Here we go, we're descending.

02:10:38 (Robert) Doucement!
Gently!

Bonin eases the back pressure on the stick, and the plane gains speed as its climb becomes more shallow. It accelerates to 223 knots. The stall warning falls silent. For a moment, the co-pilots are in control of the airplane.

02:10:41(Bonin) On est en… ouais, on est en "climb."
We're... yeah, we're in a climb.

Yet, still, Bonin does not lower the nose. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Robert pushes a button to summon the captain.

02:10:49 (Robert) Putain, il est où... euh?
Damn it, where is he?

02:10:55 (Robert) Putain!
Damn it!

Another of the pitot tubes begins to function once more. The cockpit's avionics are now all functioning normally. The flight crew has all the information that they need to fly safely, and all the systems are fully functional. The problems that occur from this point forward are entirely due to human error.

02:11:03 (Bonin) Je suis en TOGA, hein?
I'm in TOGA, huh?

Bonin's statement here offers a crucial window onto his reasoning. TOGA is an acronym for Take Off, Go Around. When a plane is taking off or aborting a landing—"going around"—it must gain both speed and altitude as efficiently as possible. At this critical phase of flight, pilots are trained to increase engine speed to the TOGA level and raise the nose to a certain pitch angle.

02:11:06 (Robert) Putain, il vient ou il vient pas?
Damn it, is he coming or not?

The plane now reaches its maximum altitude. With engines at full power, the nose pitched upward at an angle of 18 degrees, it moves horizontally for an instant and then begins to sink back toward the ocean.

02:11:21 (Robert) On a pourtant les moteurs! Qu'est-ce qui se passe bordel? Je ne comprends pas ce que se passe.
We still have the engines! What the hell is happening? I don't understand what's happening.

Unlike the control yokes of a Boeing jetliner, the side sticks on an Airbus are "asynchronous"—that is, they move independently. "If the person in the right seat is pulling back on the joystick, the person in the left seat doesn't feel it," says Dr. David Esser, a professor of aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

02:11:32 (Bonin) Putain, j'ai plus le contrôle de l'avion, là! J'ai plus le contrôle de l'avion!
Damn it, I don't have control of the plane, I don't have control of the plane at all!

02:11:37 (Robert) Commandes à gauche!
Left seat taking control!

At last, the more senior of the pilots (and the one who seems to have a somewhat better grasp of the situation) now takes control of the airplane. Unfortunately, he, too, seems unaware of the fact that the plane is now stalled, and pulls back on the stick as well.

02:11:43 (Captain) Eh… Qu'est-ce que vous foutez?
What the hell are you doing?

02:11:45 (Bonin) On perd le contrôle de l'avion, là!
We've lost control of the plane!

02:11:47 (Robert) On a totalement perdu le contrôle de l'avion... On comprend rien... On a tout tenté...
We've totally lost control of the plane. We don't understand at all... We've tried everything.

By now the plane has returned to its initial altitude but is falling fast. With its nose pitched 15 degrees up, and a forward speed of 100 knots, it is descending at a rate of 10,000 feet per minute, at an angle of 41.5 degrees.

02:12:14 (Robert) Qu'est-ce que tu en penses? Qu'est-ce que tu en penses? Qu'est-ce qu'il faut faire?
What do you think? What do you think? What should we do?

02:12:15 (Captain) Alors, là, je ne sais pas!
Well, I don't know!

As the stall warning continues to blare, the three pilots discuss the situation with no hint of understanding the nature of their problem. No one mentions the word "stall."

02:13:40 (Robert) Remonte... remonte... remonte... remonte...
Climb... climb... climb... climb...

02:13:40 (Bonin) Mais je suis à fond à cabrer depuis tout à l'heure!
But I've had the stick back the whole time!

At last, Bonin tells the others the crucial fact whose import he has so grievously failed to understand himself.

02:13:42 (Captain) Non, non, non... Ne remonte pas... non, non.
No, no, no... Don't climb... no, no.

02:13:43 (Robert) Alors descends... Alors, donne-moi les commandes... À moi les commandes!
Descend, then... Give me the controls... Give me the controls!

Bonin yields the controls, and Robert finally puts the nose down. The plane begins to regain speed. But it is still descending at a precipitous angle. As they near 2000 feet, the aircraft's sensors detect the fast-approaching surface and trigger a new alarm. There is no time left to build up speed by pushing the plane's nose forward into a dive. At any rate, without warning his colleagues, Bonin once again takes back the controls and pulls his side stick all the way back.

02:14:23 (Robert) Putain, on va taper... C'est pas vrai!
Damn it, we're going to crash... This can't be happening!

02:14:25 (Bonin) Mais qu'est-ce que se passe?
But what's happening?

02:14:27 (Captain) 10 degrès d'assiette...
Ten degrees of pitch...

Exactly 1.4 seconds later, the cockpit voice recorder stops.

Much more detail in the link

 

[ced]

Why I did this I don't know, but when I used to travel a lot with my old job, I would read about commercial airline crashes and incidents. Compared to most, this seems like complete incompetence of the pilots. I know it's a hell of a lot more difficult than reading the flight recorder makes it sound, but still, they had a lot of time to correct the stall, all while that warning was going off.

Here is the article on avherald which keeps a record of all accidents, crashes and incidents of commercial and military aircraft. It's more detailed.

http://www.avherald.com/h?article=41a81ef1/0071&opt=7680

 

[TheJollyCorner]

reading all of that was rough.

Robert saying "This can't be happening" makes me real sad.

 

[dalin80]

Iam no flight expert but it looks like a serious lack of communication caused a disaster which is no comfort to anyone involved at least a strange weather phenomenon would just be 'one of those things' rather then a utter cock up.

 

[Mattdaddy]

Man that's eerie to read when you already know the outcome.

So if I'm understanding this correctly... one of the co-pilots was pulling back on the stick trying to climb, unaware that this was actually forcing the plane into a stall? And then when he finally announces that "he's had the stick the whole time", the Captain realizes the error and forces the plan into a dive to regain speed, but it's just too late?

Man you would think that should be pretty common knowledge to a pilot at that level, but I guess in a situation like that it would be pretty easy to not think straight. Pretty sad though

 

[Fallout-NL]

The extra detail at the link makes it sound as if the pilot was a complete idiot.

 

[StuKen]

Thats a pretty chilling read.

 

[ced]

Man that's eerie to read when you already know the outcome.

So if I'm understanding this correctly... one of the co-pilots was pulling back on the stick trying to climb, unaware that this was actually forcing the plane into a stall? And then when he finally announces that "he's had the stick the whole time", the Captain realizes the error and forces the plan into a dive to regain speed, but it's just too late?

Man you would think that should be pretty common knowledge to a pilot at that level, but I guess in a situation like that it would be pretty easy to not think straight. Pretty sad though

More or less yeah, they corrected a stall once and then got right back into it. Keep in mind I believe they were in some nasty turbulence, and had icing issues that affected the flight sensors. Still seems like the result of incompetence to me. It also seems like a bad design on that airbus that the flight sticks are independent of each other.

 

[alphaNoid]

Morbidly interesting to read. Imagine the terrifying fear of the passengers as they feel the plane falling out of the sky and to their deaths. I mean, you have a few seconds to lookat your family/friend next to you and say, "Goodbye, I love you.", hug each other one last time before vaporizing.

 

[SRG01]

The extra detail at the link makes it sound as if the pilot was a complete idiot.

I don't think you need the link to know that. Reading that excerpt was more than a little depressing.

 

[ced]

Morbidly interesting to read. Imagine the terrifying fear of the passengers as they feel the plane falling out of the sky and to their deaths. I mean, you have a few seconds to lookat your family/friend next to you and say, "Goodbye, I love you.", hug each other one last time before vaporizing.

I would guess a lot passed out, with the severe turbulence, steep climbs and steep falls it was probably terrifying.

 

[dabig2]

It's sad that the captain and Robert never caught onto the fact that Bonin had been pushing back on the controls the entire time. It was crushing to read when Robert finally pushed forward but the system was in "dual mode" and only averaged his pushing forward and Bonin's pushing back.

The captain when he came back in the cockpit should've immediately taken primary control. A shame he didn't.

 

[adamsappel]

That was horrible to read.

 

[LabouredSubterfuge]

That was exceedingly unpleasant to read

 

[Lamel]

That was an intense read...my god. How were they so unaware?

 

[Callo Merlose]

The fact that the passengers were never notified about the going-ons will make me more prone to panic next time I'm flying. D:

 

[Rocket Scientist]

GAF's comments already make me dizzy. Not going to read that, sounds messed up.

 

[ultron87]

Is there any advantage to having a "dual mode" on the flight yokes like that?

I can't think of a good reason for the plane to accept conflicting control inputs and just average them out.

 

[andycapps]

Wow. :/

 

[Nora Kisaragi]

The extra detail at the link makes it sound as if the pilot was a complete idiot.

Bonin single-handedly killed everyone aboard that airship, but it sounds like Robert should have noticed that Bonin was pulling back the stick, so it's kind of the fault of both pilots. And these are the people we entrust with our lives.

I feel sorry for the passengers more than anything. I'm glad that we can finally put this story to rest, though, and hopefully other pilots learn from this.

 

[Shorty]

How is the captain taking a nap when they are flying through an area known for severe storms? FUCK

 

[toxicgonzo]

I'm still amazed that a commercial aircraft can't recover from a stall even at altitude.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Made me queasy. 10,000 fall/minute at a 40+ degree angle with the nose angled up @ < 100 knots? A TODDLER knows the nose needs to drop. The fuck.

I'm seriously queasy imagining the people in that cock pit and cabin.

 

[Simplet]

I'm still amazed that a commercial aircraft can't recover from a stall even at altitude.

It sounds like they actually did the first time. Then went back into it and by the time they realized it this time (it's not even clear if they all realized it) it was too late.

 

[The Elite]

The fact that the passengers were never notified about the going-ons will make me more prone to panic next time I'm flying. D:

Informing the passengers is the last thing that should be on their mind. Getting the plane under control is all they should be concerned with.

 

[Shorty]

I'm still amazed that a commercial aircraft can't recover from a stall even at altitude.

It was a pilot error. He tried to put the nose up instead of down.

The "nose-up input" is contrary to established procedure. In fact, it's the exact opposite of what every beginning pilot is taught to do. (Pointing the nose down can help pull a plane out of a stall.)

 

[plainr_]

Scary.

 

[The Elite]

It was a pilot error. He tried to put the nose up instead of down.

Is there a certain point at which you should pull up though? Do you wait until the stall alarm goes off?

 

[alphaNoid]

I would guess a lot passed out, with the severe turbulence, steep climbs and steep falls it was probably terrifying.

You're probably right, but still.. imagine those who didn't. Yikes.

 

[Dorrin]

So basically Bonin was an idiot. We deal with them in all walks of life but this is what happens when one becomes a pilot.

02:14:25 (Bonin) Mais qu'est-ce que se passe?
But what's happening?

Even at the end he is fucking clueless.

I've had two idiots recently install changes and not bother to test anything. One cost two months of data inaccuracy(still fixing) the other kept me up 24 hours straight fixing his fuck up, he was sound asleep of course. All because the two morons didn't bother to simply double check their work, their literal less then 15min of checking would have saved many hours and thousands of dollars.

It really amazes me how some people think. I guess I'll just be glad they didn't go into aviation like this guy.

 

[Lamel]

Is there a certain point at which you should pull up though? Do you wait until the stall alarm goes off?

Yes and when you have sufficient speed to stabilize and begin ascending again. by the time they were at 2000 feet, they didn't have sufficient speed and the plane was still descending...if they put the nose down they would have just caused it to descend faster (this would have increased the speed of the plane, but with it they would have also hit the ground even faster, which is why you want to exit a stall as high up in the air as you can), so they knew they were doomed.

 

[The Elite]

Yes and when you have sufficient speed to stabilize and begin ascending again. by the time they were at 2000 feet, they didn't have sufficient speed and the plane was still descending...if they put the nose down they would have just caused it to descend faster, so they knew they were doomed.

That actually makes complete sense.

Thanks.

 

[Steelrain]

This makes me angry. What a fuck up.

 

[faulty_fork]

Wow that was a pretty scary read, what was Bonin thinking? To me it just seems crazy that a trained pilot would try to keep the stick back during stall warnings. Must have really been affected by the thunderstorms, rising cockpit temperature and that light phenomenon.

 

[Sinatar]

Is there a certain point at which you should pull up though? Do you wait until the stall alarm goes off?

The plane stalls when it no longer has enough forward momentum to maintain altitude, so you point the nose down to build speed and once you're going fast enough you can level off and start to climb again.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

Made me queasy. 10,000 fall/minute at a 40+ degree angle with the nose angled up @ < 100 knots? A TODDLER knows the nose needs to drop. The fuck.

I'm seriously queasy imagining the people in that cock pit and cabin.

Seriously. Thats insane. I guess panic just took over?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Wow that was a pretty scary read, what was Bonin thinking? To me it just seems crazy that a trained pilot would try to keep the stick back during stall warnings. Must have really been affected by the thunderstorms, rising cockpit temperature and that light phenomenon.

they both tried pulling the stick back at some point as the plane was losing altitude and speed. they both failed to remember the asynchronous nature of the controls of the plane they were flying. they both failed to suggest tilting the nose down to increase speed.

if the planes controls and instruments did in fact have all correct information during the entire descent, the pilot's brains cook a collective shit, and by the time the Captain returned, it was too late for him to be brought up to speed in time.

Seriously. Thats insane. I guess panic just took over?

yes. when they started saying, "we don't have control!" panic had officially taken over and shit was not going to end well. but they got to the point of panic because one guy was pulling on the stick unbeknownst to the other guy. so the senior guy didn't know why the plane wasn't responding correctly. :-(

It all screams of extremely mediocre training. they forgot the basics. most airlines prepare pilots well for bad situations. lots of simulations and such.

 

[TheSeks]

The extra detail at the link makes it sound as if the pilot was a complete idiot.

I wouldn't say a complete idiot. Just he was inexperienced. The captain apparently came back, took the seat and then like 5 mins later went back to "take a nap" leaving the inexperienced pilot instead of the pilot that was some-what experienced in charge.

 

[John Rabbit]

How is the captain taking a nap when they are flying through an area known for severe storms? FUCK

this is what i was a little confused about. why would he leave the cockpit entirely let alone give the least experienced pilot the controls when they're flying in an area that is known for turbulent/violent weather?

 

[The Lamonster]

Being in a commercial plane crash is basically my biggest fear ever. Not sure why I read this

 

[esquire]

This is eerily similar to what happened on Birgenair flight 301.

I can't wait for the Mayday/Air Crash Investigation episode of this.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

I wouldn't say a complete idiot. Just he was inexperienced.

even an inexperienced pilot knows that you don't pull a stick back in a stall situation. that's a fundamental concept of flight whether flying commercial jets, fighter jets, cessna's, or prop planes. It's as basic as your multiplication tables. I'd guess the majority of GAF could have figured this problem one out, and they have no training at all. Seems to me that the dude just made some bad decisions incited by panic and compounded by poor communication. If this was all truly the result of "inexperience" rather than fear, then he shouldn't have been anywhere near the cockpit of an Airbus or any other plane. Too many lives at stake.

this is what i was a little confused about. why would he leave the cockpit entirely let alone give the least experienced pilot the controls when they're flying in an area that is known for turbulent/violent weather?

from what I understood, they expected that they had plotted a course safely around the storm cell(s) and didn't find out otherwise until after the Captain had left. and really, what they should have done to avoid it isn't terribly complicated anyway.

 

[faulty_fork]

they both tried pulling the stick back at some point as the plane was losing altitude and speed. they both failed to remember the asynchronous nature of the controls of the plane they were flying. they both failed to suggest tilting the nose down to increase speed.

if the planes controls and instruments did in fact have all correct information during the entire descent, the pilot's brains cook a collective shit, and by the time the Captain returned, it was too late for him to be brought up to speed in time.

Yeah I got the impression that he really wanted to get up and out of the thunderstorm, probably panicked a bit when they realised they were heading into even worse storms. As they state in the article he probably didn't realise that the plane was in "Alternate Law"-mode and thought that his actions could not cause the stall, thus all he was focused on was to try and make the plane ascend out of the storm. Still very weird behavior.

 

[Mattdaddy]

Holy shit in that link. The stall warning alarm can be heard going off in the background for almost the entire duration of the crash, including a computerized voice that repeatedly says "STALL STALL STALL". The word "Stall" can be heard on the alarm 75 times over the course of the transcript... but not once do any of the pilots ever acknowledge it. They must have been so freaked they just completely zoned out.

 

[Ceekus]

So basically Bonin was an idiot. We deal with them in all walks of life but this is what happens when one becomes a pilot.



Even at the end he is fucking clueless.

I've had two idiots recently install changes and not bother to test anything. One cost two months of data inaccuracy(still fixing) the other kept me up 24 hours straight fixing his fuck up, he was sound asleep of course. All because the two morons didn't bother to simply double check their work, their literal less then 15min of checking would have saved many hours and thousands of dollars.

It really amazes me how some people think. I guess I'll just be glad they didn't go into aviation like this guy.

That's the exactly wrong conclusion you should arrive at. The point of articles like these is to show how any one of us could be a "Bonin" given a particular set of circumstances. In Bonin's case, he likely lacked the proper training of how to react in this particular circumstance, was confused by information he was receiving by the technology of the cockpit (the article states based on his understanding of the plane's flight controls, a stall was impossible), and panicked in the moment.

I think the key here is that he panicked. He was not inherently stupid. That's a key difference. I think we all like to imagine ourselves as cool and rational under pressure, but here is a situation in which the scenario described above quickly overwhelmed Bonin, forcing him to make a series of irrational decisions he wouldn't have otherwise made in calmer circumstances. To call him an idiot is to ignore the lessons we can learn here about technology's role in piloting and cockpit and stress management.

 

[LCfiner]

oh man, that was awful to read through. terrible communication and they began to panic so quickly.

awful. awful. awful.

 

[dschalter]

Being in a commercial plane crash is basically my biggest fear ever. Not sure why I read this

commercial aviation is very safe though.

certainly much much safer than flying GA.

 

[Alucrid]

even an inexperienced pilot knows that you don't pull a stick back in a stall situation. that's a fundamental concept of flight whether flying commercial jets, fighter jets, cessna's, or prop planes. It's as basic as your multiplication tables. I'd guess the majority of GAF could have figured this problem one out, and they have no training at all. Seems to me that the dude just made some bad decisions incited by panic and compounded by poor communication. If this was all truly the result of "inexperience" rather than fear, then he shouldn't have been anywhere near the cockpit of an Airbus or any other plane. Too many lives at stake.



from what I understood, they expected that they had plotted a course safely around the storm cell(s) and didn't find out otherwise until after the Captain had left. and really, what they should have done to avoid it isn't terribly complicated anyway.

If you read the full article it talks about normal law and how the planes computer wont allow any action that will cause it to stall, however now it was operating in alternate law which he may have never flown in or known the parameters of. Its not entirely his fault, a lot of things went wrong here which they need to assess. A lack of communication between the co pilots, the less experienced one being left at the controls, etc.

 

[hayejin]

Great. I had to read this story when I have a plane to catch later in the afternoon.

 

[Cat Party]

"Inexperienced" in this case is a relative term. It takes many years of training to get to the point where you can even sniff the controls of an airliner.