Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Planes with four engines are certainly not designed to fly with 3 of 4 engines out...



Indeed, planes are not designed to be flown in that configuration normally, but they are certainly capable of single-engine flight in emergency situations (where the alternative would be "flying like a ton of bricks"). Exhibit A: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_9


No, actually "capable of flying" means capable of performing all flight maneuvers required for safe flight and landing, including takeoff, go-around and approach/landing. BA Flight 9 failed all four engines, normally not survivable - but managed to restart all four engines by windmilling. So they recovered in time for landing.


Just curious, where did you find that definition of "capable of flying"? Because under that definition a glider ( unless it is a motorize glider ) is not "capable of flying".


Okay, under that definition, you are correct. Note that the flight later lost engine #2 again (incidentally making the record of five engine failures on a single flight), so it landed with 3 engines operational.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: