I think the idea was that maybe you could save someones life by steering it as best you could until it hit the ground and avoid taking others with you. My story was a second ahnd story so im just relaying as it was told to me.
I’m not advocating anything. I was just wondering if anybody knows what the policies or practices that pilots are taught nowadays are. It would probably depend on exactly what the mechanicle failure was too, loss of power equals no control so there would be no point in sticking around, i agree.
Understood,
Most, if not all pilots try desperately to steer away from populated areas, some try so hard they don’t make it out of their aircraft.
Sorry, didn’t mean to make it sound like you were “advocating”, re-reading my comment I can see where it might look like that.
From my time in the USAF, I’m not sure if there is a “policy”, probably some unwritten “rule” that you do your best, but that the aircraft can be replaced, people can’t.
Some failures are so catastrophic, that pilots aren’t given a choice to try and avoid populated areas and are forced to eject as soon as possible. Re: the F117A crash in Maryland about 10 years ago. The wing came apart and the aircraft instantly went out of control. The pilot had no choice but to eject and pray for those on the ground.
I had the same thought and question.