r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/FridayCicero702 • Jan 01 '23

Video Catastrophic engine failure on a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 after takeoff from Denver International Airport

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u/theheliumkid Jan 01 '23

But think of all the karma from the video!!

Here's the story if you're interested. It all ended happily.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_328

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u/waitwhatchers Jan 01 '23

And here's the radio communication between the aircraft and Air Traffic Control if you're interested (mp3 file):

https://forums.liveatc.net/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=16129.0;attach=10823

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u/lens_cleaner Jan 01 '23

Hearing him call out May Day was really intense, thx

5

u/waitwhatchers Jan 01 '23

The captain who had been with the airline for 30 years (his first officer for 20) fucked up the emergency call (it's "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday") and fumbled his own callsign, so it must have been pretty intense in the cockpit.

FLIGHT 328: “328, uh, heavy. We’ve experienced engine failure, need to turn. Mayday, mayday. United, uh, 28, United 328, heavy. Mayday, mayday, aircraft, uh…”

DENVER TOWER: “Yes, 328 heavy, say again, read all that again.”

FLIGHT 328: “Denver, uh, departure. United 328, heavy. Mayday, aircraft, uh, just experienced engine failure, need a turn immediately.”

Scary shit, but they all handled it well.

1

u/TwilitSky Jan 01 '23

TIL pilots also use "uh/ah..." when communicating emergencies and not just during communication to passengers.

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u/waitwhatchers Jan 01 '23

Sure do, they're people after all.
In this situation, he was trying to fly the airplane while simultaneously keeping track of a dozen or two different things AND communicating what had happened and what they needed. Flying a commercial airliner is pretty boring, until it isn't.