Does this plane crash sequence work

[tamtrible]

This is for my fungal zombies again. I've asked about most of this before, as well as having asked an aviation-crash expert I know, I'm just trying to figure out if I'm missing anything

Comments

[boogieshoes]

I like it. :) Having electrical go out is a nice touch, because all sorts of things can go wrong without the electricity.

Good construction on the accident!

-bs

[planet_x_zero]

I just watched a surprisingly good series on NetFlix about air disasters. Modern airliners, or older refitted ones, have very good GPS and weather radar systems. So do air traffic control towers. I'm not sure I'd buy the part about being blown off course, or if you meant that as the cause of the systems failure. In most airplanes, the engines provide power to the hydraulic and electrical systems. You'd want something that froze the control surfaces (rudder, ailerons elevators) so a hydraulic system failure would do that, possibly via an initial fire in the cargo hold eating through hydraulic lines. For even more modern airliners, a computer systems failure for fly-by-wire controls might work. Pilot error (or intentional unsafe behavior) is another possibility. I'd highly recommend checking out the documentary, it changed my understanding of airplane crashes.

[lindenfoxcub]

Yeah, airliners don't get "blown" off course. They might turn aside to avoid some bad weather and go around it, but a plane that size being blown off course by weather is not believable at all. You'd want to have them either guided there deliberately to avoid some bad weather, or by a navigational systems error, but probably the former, because there are just too many safeguards out there to make sure a plane isn't someplace it shouldn't be.

Also, and electrical failure will not take out the engines. The engines in an aeroplane are not like car engines, and they're not dependent on electricity to keep running. There are very few things that would cause both the engines and the electrical to go out in an aeroplane at the same time that wouldn't completely destroy the plane and kill everyone instantly. It really doesn't happen.

[tamtrible]

Ok, back to the drawing board, sounds like. I think I misunderstood something in the responses to my prior post.

[scribefigaro]

1/2

[scribefigaro]

2/2

Some bad weather comes up and blows them a bit off course (unless there's an appropriate route that flies over the bit I need).

There are several jetways passing through that area. Presumably the aircraft would ask and receive permission to divert around severe weather. Weather is also a little easier to make a multi-system failure; severe rain or ice can potentially kill the engines and/or interfere with radio communications.

The electrical system goes spectacularly kerflooey, knocking out communications (optional) and the engines, and starting a fire that's filling the cabin with smoke.Sort of difficult to have a single-point failure for all those problems. The computers that run the engines are inside the engines and they're powered by their own engine-driven generators and fuel pumps; they'll happily keep running if their electronic connections to the flight deck are severed

[tamtrible]

Feh.
hrm...

So. Electrical fire makes all their sensors go kerflooey, engines are either on fire or thought to be on fire. And possibly messes up their ability to *control* all the bits that control the plane. They were flying a little lower (or, at least, a little closer to the ground) than they normally would, because of how they diverted to avoid bad weather. So, there's no way they can reach an airstrip before they're likely to crash (Colorado has lots of miles of pointy bits and nothing in particular, as far as I can tell). Their best bet may be one of the ponds or reservoirs I saw on the map, it would essentially give them a flat bit and reduce or eliminate any tire contributions to the smoke.

What plane condition would make them most likely to say "we need to land this plane *right now*, regardless", but could make the crash survivable?...

[debirlfan]

Feeling among pilots seems to be that in case of fire, you get the plane on the ground. Years ago, I might have proposed the plane being hit by lightning, but they seem less susceptible to that these days. Do the zombies really need to start biting while still on the plane? A panicked evacuation with heavy smoke in the air cutting visibility would seem to allow an opportunity for mayhem in the aftermath. As someone suggested, and old abandoned and somewhat too short airfield would be a good place to crash land - with smoke filling the cockpit, if the pilot looks out of the window and sees a strip of asphalt he's not going to stop to check his maps.

[tamtrible]

is it acceptable/kosher to delete unrelated spam, like that ^^^^^^^?

[kdorian]

I would assume so. I would HOPE so!