I Landed a B777

I just landed a B777 yesterday. I had a feel of what it was like to be in command, to give orders to my First Officer (who is my boss by the way *wink*) and flying a commercial B777 aircraft!

I love to be in the airline industry. I get to have nice perks like traveling, meeting pilots, giving orders to our pilots, and flying a B777. Wow! I never thought I would be on the Left Hand Seat (where the captain sits) tinkering on the buttons and levers, adjusting speed and altitude, maneuvering the aircraft until I got it leveled.

You must wonder how I got to fly and land a B777 huh? Well, it was not the real deal but I was given the chance to do it in a B777 simulator. My boss had fun giving me all kinds of weather impediments: snow, rain, thunder and lightning, fog, and the famous sandstorm of the Middle East. I even had to avoid mid-air collision because of traffic. There were too many of those big whales (A380) in the air. Whew! That's what you call pushing tins!

It was fun! I got to be a Captain of B777 for once in my life even if it was in the simulator. See the photo slideshow...

What's happening in the aviation industry?

Being in the field of aviation, one thing that really shakes me hard is reading news about plane crashes. In a span of a month, another Airbus plane crashed in the Indian Ocean on its way to the small island of Comoros today. The first incident was the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. This recent Yemenia Jet (an A310 carrier) crash was from Marseilles to Comoros en route to Yemen to change aircraft.

I am not singling out Airbus for the incident but in general. Is the aviation industry losing its grip on stern safety rules? What is happening? Who is at fault?

The airline industry is already suffering because of the global crisis we are all facing. To have another blow like this will weaken the remaining ties of the few airlines which are still standing.

I am offering my deepest sympathy to all the families of the recent crash and the ones last month. It's just heart-breaking.