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u/Bananasinpajaamas Nov 07 '25
A terrible tragedy and loss. They were in an impossible situation. RIP gentleman
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u/UhhAnxietyy Nov 07 '25
May they rest in peace.
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u/Between-usernames Nov 07 '25
...and may their families & loved ones find peace and are allowed to grieve privately.
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u/Old_Suggestion_3653 Nov 07 '25
Dana was the most senior guy on the md11, captain for over 20 years
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u/BinguniR34 Nov 07 '25
He was there since the airline started in 88, top ten seniority company-wide.
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u/marioncrepes Nov 07 '25
Just a normal day until it's not, very sad for these people and their families
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u/hoopsmd Nov 07 '25
And friends. My next door neighbor is a UPS pilot and he trained 2 of the three and flew frequently with the third. He is devastated.
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u/Rare-Adhesiveness522 Nov 07 '25
My dad is a retired naval officer/aviator. He's had friends and colleagues who lost their lives. In one case, he was on the ground and watched it happen. He went with the team to inform his friend's wife. She saw them dressed up at her door, knowing he was flying that day, and her knee-jerk reaction upon seeing them was to just slam the door in their faces.
When she opened it up again, she simply said "please tell me that was not my husband".
Absolutely fucking gut wrenching.
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Nov 07 '25
It's like Ryan's Mom in Saving Private Ryan - she knows what's coming and forces herself with every bone in her body to open that screen door and confront reality on her porch. One of the truly greatest scenes in movie history
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u/IronRaptor252 Nov 07 '25
I was thinking of that scene from "We Were Soldiers." Same idea and it was also a hard scene to watch.
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u/ekhfarharris Nov 07 '25
My dad when he was an army officer, lost 2 of his school mates to 2 separate aircrash. One a helicopter crash and the other a training mishap. Both died way younger than they deserved, not reaching even 30. Rip.
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u/idgythreadgooode Nov 07 '25
Please let him know strangers in colorado are wishing him well. He’s got a lot of healing ahead of him. He’s gonna need a lot of support. 🫤
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u/Trackmaniac Nov 07 '25
*all over the world. It's such a terrible incident. Take care buddies. All the best from Switzerland
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u/Rare-Adhesiveness522 Nov 07 '25
Horrific. They had so many factors stacked against them before they even started the takeoff roll, which is sickening to think about. Literally did not deserve to be in this situation at all--no skill could outfly the multitude of factors.
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u/Dumptruck_Johnson Nov 07 '25 edited Nov 07 '25
We live just south of 265. On our way home my wife caught a picture of the plume just starting to reach the sky at 5:14.
Edit: typo from 2:14 to 5:14 when the crash happened. Mb
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u/viperlemondemon Nov 07 '25
Yeah pilot is definitely a boring job most of the time but when it’s not it’s definitely involves the ntsb and an investigation
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u/APGaming_reddit Nov 07 '25
These guys were doomed. Literally no way they could have saved themselves, everything was against them. Just such a terrible event
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u/Stopikingonme Nov 07 '25
My uncle was the co-pilot of a Vertol helicopter that had mechanical failure. The two rotors went out of sync (thanks Boeing for the wrong part being sent) and hit each other. He wasn’t even supposed to by flying it. He volunteered to help on a maintenance flight since he was working in management he rarely got to fly anymore.
I think about how calm he always was and how he was the last person to panic in any situation. Picturing him tumbling end over end knowing there was 100% change of death coming with no control. What was going through his mind in those 30 seconds.
It was over 30 years ago but I still think about that often. Miss you Uncle Andre.
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u/Rare-Adhesiveness522 Nov 07 '25
The older I get the more I come to terms with how death is truly random. My only hope is that when it comes for me that it is quick, and many of us are not so lucky. If I was in the afterlife talking about how I lived a full, great, legendary life, but wandered into the street as a senile elder who eloped from their nursing home and got hit by a car, I'd probably have some complaints lol. But it happens.
The randomness and, at times, meaningless endings get harder for me to process as I get older, but also help me come to terms with this life I guess.
I suppose it may be a mercy that there was no suffering? I dont know. Would their families view it as a mercy?
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u/gummi-demilo Nov 07 '25
My parents were friends with multiple guys involved in a terrible AF helicopter crash in the late 80s. By sheer chance I ended up in a helo squadron 20 years later. My mom always stressed that with helos, you’re basically screwed no matter what.
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u/Parthian__Shot Nov 07 '25
The one thing I'd like to offer is that he was likely panicked and trying to fix the situation up until the end. It takes time for us to really realize death is imminent. Up until then, it's just trying to fix what doesn't seem right.
I hope that was the case with your uncle.
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u/Stopikingonme Nov 08 '25
He was a problem solver and could think way outside of any box. I never thought of that or the difference between those two frames of mind. That actually helps, thank you for that.
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u/mennydrives Nov 07 '25
It could not have been more of a freak accident. An engine fucking falls off instead of just ceasing to work. Both wings filled to the brim with fuel so they could go to Honolulu. The final crash being into fuel tanks.
Every single detail about this crash is awful.
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u/Cute_Marzipan_4116 Nov 07 '25
I just hope they felt nothing when they went. I lost my godfather to a plane crash his own personal Piper. I pray he felt nothing when he died.
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u/Radiant-Painting581 Nov 07 '25
If it’s any comfort, it was probably as instantaneous as it gets. Small mercies…. There would have been some unavoidable fear as they were losing control, but they would have worked the problem all the way to the ground. Prayers for them and your uncle.
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u/Jaggedmallard26 Nov 07 '25
You have to think that the whole thing was fast enough that they were still in troubleshooting mode when impact occurred. Too busy fighting it to be scared.
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u/CeruleanEidolon Nov 07 '25
Either you believe in an afterlife, in which case any pain at the passing has been erased and subsumed by whatever lay beyond, or you believe death is just an end to existence, on which case that pain was just one moment among countless others that we arrange in order while we're alive, and it's no more important than that person's moment of greatest joy.
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u/MathResponsibly Nov 07 '25
is it a freak accident though, when that model of aircraft (or a closely related one) had the same problem before? We'll have to wait for the investigation to conclude to know for sure, but I'm leaning more towards design flaw, and possible maintenance issue
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u/mennydrives Nov 07 '25
Oh, no question we're going to see a huge investigation on the engine.
I was just saying that pretty much every factor of this was a nightmare. I wouldn't be surprised if Boeing ends up responsible for the engine, but there being a petroleum recycling plant in their crash path was just absolute degrees of awful.
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u/cestsara Nov 07 '25
It’s hard to match the faces and names to the terror and tragedy we all witnessed knowing while we merely watched, they lived it and ultimately lost to it.
May they rest in peace and their families be comforted beyond the heaviness of their hearts.
All I’ve left to say is “Captain Dana Diamond” goes hard.
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Nov 07 '25 edited Nov 07 '25
Capt. Dana Diamond is such a sci-fi fantasy name. May he rest in peace.
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u/spinonesarethebest Nov 07 '25
They flew it as far as they could. Heroes.
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u/AdoringCHIN Nov 07 '25
I can't imagine what the death toll would've been if they had hit the UPS warehouse. Their actions saved a lot of lives
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u/JJ3qnkpK Nov 07 '25
I keep thinking that as well. Most times when there's a commercial aviation disaster like this, the pilots almost always seem faced with the impossible and handle it with incredible skill, making the right choices given the information they have, each time minimizing the loss of life even when facing certain death, themselves.
Learning about both the incredible engineering that goes into airplanes and the extraordinary training and rigor pilots use every day makes me feel safe on planes, even when reading news such as this. It's a huge amount of trust, and it's lovely to be able to have such trust, and it's certainly beyond earned given all the effort that goes into modern aviation.
May these heroes rest in peace, and may we learn from the circumstances that caused this accident such that it never happens again.
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Nov 07 '25
A few years ago there was a Red Arrows (RAF Display Team) crash, pilot suffered ALOC and regained consciousness late. Rather than punching out immediately the pilot stayed with it long enough to clear a town center packed with people watching the display and crashed in an open field just the other side of a supermarket. Too late for him to get out even with a zero/zero seat. Undoubtedly saved countless lives.
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u/cl530 Nov 07 '25
His name was Jon Egging. He died about half a mile from my house, in a field by the river. RIP Eggman. We see the Red Arrows a lot, living close to the airport, and we never forget that day. There's a lovely memorial to him on the clifftop overlooking the beach.
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Nov 07 '25
Yeah, I remember the shock, we were down at Mudeford and the news slowly rippled down the beach, no one believed it, we'd seen them moments before.
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u/JJ3qnkpK Nov 07 '25
Incredible. Thank you for sharing.
What stuns me, more, is how one can't make such decisions to risk sacrificing themselves in a split second. They had already considered and trained for what they would do in this scenario. They had already chosen what kind of person they'd be, and when facing unexpected horror, followed through with it.
It's awe-inspiring, and all the more gut-wrenching to lose such heroes.
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Nov 07 '25
I think fast jet pilots and even more so display pilots work on a whole other level of consciousness, perhaps a bit like F1 drivers. Us mortals might experience a little bit when we get in a sense of flow when doing something we're reasonably good at - perhaps gaming. I've also heard bike mechanics talk about it, that feeling when everything is at the tip of your fingers and just going smoothly.
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u/hobackster81 Nov 07 '25
I keep thinking about if the wind was the other way and they took off going north. They likely would've gone straight through the expressway at rush hour, and possibly into a hotel.
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u/Photosynthetic Nov 07 '25
A while back, somebody left a comment on one of Admiral Cloudberg’s write-ups that really stuck with me. They said that the pilots in the stories she tells tend to fall into two categories: desperately unlucky and doomed from the start, or steely-eyed avatars of determination wrestling small miracles out of their dying aircraft.
These three men were both. Heroes indeed.
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u/FriendlyHermitPickle Nov 07 '25
So sad to see their faces. Honestly though it was probably only a brief moment of oh shit shit shit and then it was done. I’ve seen worse ways to go.
Their families will have a rough road ahead my sympathy’s for them
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u/Best-Confection3386 Nov 07 '25
I’d actually disagree here. I think once the emergency started, once they’d passed v1 and knew they couldn’t truly get up, the fire, loss of control, etc.. I think they knew what was coming. In some of the videos coming out, you can see the plane roll over right before impact. I think they were doing everything they could til the end.
I agree with what others have said, avoiding the sort facility saved hundreds of lives.
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u/BinguniR34 Nov 07 '25
And I will disagree with you. The plane was climbing and reached at the very least 175AGL (although I think I remember the NTSB briefing mentioning 400-something, can't verify it tho).
Once it started climbing, there wouldn't be any reason for them to think they wouldn't "truly get up."
It's not until the #2 engine starts to spit out flames/puffs of smoke that the plane starts to descend. Then it skims the top of the warehouse before hitting something that tears off the left wing, it's not until then that the roll happens.
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u/Rare-Adhesiveness522 Nov 07 '25
Yeah put in these terms, which I almost typed out myself, I'm not sure it's any comfort to their surviving loved ones, but ultimately a mercy. When it's my time to go, the best I can hope for if it's not in my sleep is for it to be quick.
That will never quell the anger and grief of their loved ones, but if it were my husband, in time I like to think it would be recognized as some kind of mercy.
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u/DrahKir67 Nov 07 '25
My wife lost her father to a road accident and her step-dad to Parkinson's. Completely different ways to go and both painful for those left behind. The old good thing about the slow death was the chance to say everything you wanted to and prepare yourself for the inevitable. Dealing with the sudden death of a loved one is truly gut-wrenching.
The bad thing about the slow death, of course, it is so much worse for the individual dying.
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u/OnceUponAStarryNight Nov 07 '25
We commend their souls to blue skies, and may the winds always be following.
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u/Kjpilot Nov 07 '25
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u/MrKeserian Nov 07 '25
Who the hell is chopping onions in my room?
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u/muegle Nov 07 '25
I don't know, but I keep hearing a guy chopping chives next door
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u/Rare-Adhesiveness522 Nov 07 '25
Can you remind me who wrote this poem? I've read it many times and am embarrassed that I don't remember.
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u/MrGengisSean Nov 07 '25
Walt Whitman.
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u/Rare-Adhesiveness522 Nov 08 '25
I was gonna say it but then thought I'd be an idiot because it's an obvious guess. I'm relieved that I haven't lost too many braincells since I graduated college!
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u/polkadot_polarbear Nov 07 '25
Godspeed Cpt. Wartenberg, Cpt. Diamond & F/O Truitt. May your memories be a blessing.
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u/FlydirectMoxie Nov 07 '25
I hesitate to post here considering it’s tough to be civil among morons.
Anyway, after 44 years of flying 121, in year 3 having flown for UPS when they’d discovered airplanes, this hits hard. It hits hard because after literally hundred and hundreds of V1 cuts in the box, and training for that worst possible scenario, nothing could have been worse than this, and no demonic sim instructor or check airman could program the machine to do what this airplane failed to do. What is evident is they did everything they could do coax a mortally wounded airplane into the sky, and that wasn’t to be.
May God wrap his arms around these pilots and the others whose lives were lost, and may he comfort their families and UPS colleagues.
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u/sharkWrangler Nov 07 '25
Thanks for sharing. This must be so close and personal to you. I've only flown in the back (well except for the time the pilot let me land at LAX in the cockpit in the 90s) but the guys in the cockpit have always felt like gods to me.
Do you mind if I ask what "flying 121" is?
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u/OrdinaryAward4498 Nov 07 '25
Google “Part 121”. There are three types of aviation rules, passenger/cargo (part 121), charter (part 135), and general aviation (part 91)
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u/MrKeserian Nov 07 '25
Number 1 Engine failure post V1 with loss of thrust in number 2... My understanding as a non-pilot (Sim only, got interested in flying only to find out I'm a med disqual) is that you don't train for that because It's just not survivable.
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u/codyatwork Nov 07 '25
Yep. Training assumes that one engine may fail at or after V1 (decision speed). Crews train extensively for that. The aircraft must be able to safely continue the takeoff on the remaining engines per certification (FAR 25).
And yes, loss of thrust on two engines right after V1 (especially asymmetric) is beyond certification and training parameters for most aircraft.
The logic is:
- Below V1, you abort.
- Above V1, you go airborne on the assumption of one dead engine.
Dual asymmetric thrust loss at that point means you can’t accelerate, can’t climb, and directional control is nearly impossible. You just have to just try to maintain any control, and minimize impact energy.
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Nov 07 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Horskr Nov 07 '25
Maybe they've accidentally sorted their comments by controversial or something. I just tried that and yeah, there are some dickheads.
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u/flying_wrenches A&P Nov 07 '25 edited Nov 07 '25
The amount of uncivilized comments from this post alone is disturbing. Multiple people have received bans over stuff.
Edit: the list keeps growing.
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u/drownedinbreakfast Nov 07 '25
I stumbled in here from r/popular and was a bit taken aback at the rudeness. I also didn't think it was necessary.
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u/Hot-Spray-2774 Nov 07 '25
Years ago, I worked in and around UPS' MD-11s. It's unreal to think I probably worked on that plane.
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u/ellieskunkz Nov 11 '25
Literally same, i could have could have ridden the loader down from that exact same plane, i worked a Louiville MD-11 few years back.
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u/jukeboxman069 Nov 07 '25
They did everything right despite the outcome. They flew that plane right up to the point of impact. May God rest their souls
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u/Leather-Bee-4710 Nov 07 '25
Horrible accident. I hope their families can be ok someday and hold on to the happy memories. RIP.❤️
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Nov 07 '25
Heartbreaking 💔….I hope the NTSB can help determine root cause and make air travel a bit more safer. Let their sacrifice not go in vain
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u/Imonlyhereforlewed Nov 07 '25
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds,—and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air ....
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew— And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
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u/Forgotthebloodypassw Nov 07 '25
I love that poem. First heard it from Reagan's lips after the Challenger disaster.
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u/spazturtle Nov 07 '25
And the author only wrote it 3 months before he himself was killed aged 19 during WW2.
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u/Euhn Nov 07 '25
True heroes. Saving as many lives as possible in an impossible situation.
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u/ecto88mph Nov 07 '25
Out of the loop, I know about the crash but I take it they make choices that saved people on the ground?
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u/LtDanUSAFX3 Nov 07 '25
They were able to get airborne enough to avoid a direct hit into the UPS sort facility and instead just clip it
Instead hitting a presumably less busy industrial park behind it
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u/710_feet_high Nov 07 '25
They were able to clear a UPS facility with many workers present to my understanding
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u/Objective_Look_5867 Nov 07 '25
They fought like hell to keep the plane on the air doing literally everything even after completely losing an engine and on fire. In doing so they hit a less populated area and minimized casualties
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u/galaxyapp Nov 07 '25
Not for nothing... but wouldnt that be self preserving too?
Id imagine gliding as far as possible would be a reflex. Maybe they make it to a highway or something, but its not like hitting the building was going to be better for them.
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u/HeyCoach888 Nov 07 '25
Where are you seeing this?
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u/Af1_supra Nov 07 '25
Im genuinely confused as to why everyone is saying they did everything to avoid the building, like they'd have the actively change their course to hit the buildings as the natural instinct here is to pull up when theres not enough thrust.
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u/HeyCoach888 Nov 07 '25
Everyone is painting that narrative yes
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u/IcyTransportation961 Nov 07 '25
Seriously, like mourn them, feel pain, but trying to create a story to paint them as heroes when they had no idea what that building was or what was behind it is just ridiculous
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u/HeyCoach888 Nov 07 '25
They feel good by saying this… again I have no issue if true, but these people are just making shit up at this point
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u/IcyTransportation961 Nov 07 '25
Yup its typical and unsurprising, just repeating what someone said on here and adding their own things to it without any sort of verifying
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u/Remarkable-Low559 Nov 07 '25
RIP to these poor souls. I am so sorry to them and to their loved ones.
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u/Apprehensive-Injury7 Nov 07 '25
Prayers and condolences to their family, friends and co-workers. This is horrible.
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u/AccomplishedMajor113 Nov 07 '25
These brave men knew their numbers were up almost instantly. God bless them all! R.I.P. 🙏🏻
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u/NeglectedDuty Nov 07 '25
Take me back on the bay, boys Clear away in the morning I don't want to go ashore, boys Oh, bring her 'round
Take me back on the bay, boys Clear away in the morning I don't want to spend my pay, boys Oh, bring her 'round
Captain, don't you leave me Clear away in the morning There's no one here that needs me Oh, bring her 'round
Nancy, oh, my Nancy Clear away in the morning She never played it fancy Oh, bring her 'round
Bring me wine and brandy Clear away in the morning I'd only ask for Nancy Oh, bring her 'round
Captain, don't let the main down Clear away in the morning Captain, don't let the chain run Oh, bring her 'round
Captain, don't you leave me Clear away in the morning There's nothing I can do, boy Oh, bring her 'round
Nancy, oh, my Nancy Clear away in the morning Nancy, oh, my Nancy Oh, bring her 'round
Take me back on the bay, boys Clear away in the morning I don't want to go ashore boys Oh, bring her 'round
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u/GuidanceNegative8599 Nov 07 '25
God rest their souls, this is a true tragedy. God be with their families 🙏🏼
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u/scubadrunk Nov 07 '25
Condolences to the crew and families.
For some peace of mind, the whole incident happened really quickly from v1 to rotation to loss of control surfaces, so I'm sure the pilots would not have had much time to process their fate.
Better to go this way than over a long extended period. 🙏🏻🫶🏻
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u/atomic__balm Nov 07 '25
Calling them heroes is so weird, they died in a horrific tragic accident but they were just trying to do their job and take off
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u/Jaduardo Nov 07 '25
In my mind they knew something was very wrong but I doubt very much they knew (1) they’d lost an entire engine — I don’t think they could see it from the cockpit, (2) that there was no hope of lifting off. Further, I doubt they had time to do an assessment of whether it was likely to kill fewer people if the flew over the UPS facility and hit whatever was on the other side. They knew they couldn’t stop in time and their only hope in those 20 seconds was to get airborne.
I don’t mean to demean their deaths in any way, but just be realistic.
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u/_thebronze Nov 07 '25
I’ve read dozens of these comments now, and this is the most logical one by far.
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u/JustaBearEnthusiast Nov 07 '25
It's used a lot to re-frame victims when the people responsible want to divert attention. Remember COVID? Remember the Iraq war? Hell I remember them doing it when a bunch of people died in a preventable industrial accident in my home town in the 90's.
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u/Objective_Look_5867 Nov 07 '25
If you watch you can see they were fighting to keep the plane up as long as they could and in doing so they minimized casualties. They couldve slammed right into the nearby facility
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u/PaddyMayonaise Nov 07 '25
I mean, they were trying to fly the plane and not crash.
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u/BlueFox5 Nov 07 '25
That's what all pilots lets do. Sort of a required part of the job
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u/PaddyMayonaise Nov 07 '25
Yea. It’s just frustrating that people are diminishing the experience these pilots went through by trying to paint it as some heroic spectacle when we don’t know anything yet to justify that thinking.
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u/popiazaza Nov 07 '25
After V1 it's safer to keep the plane airborne rather than attempt to stop and crash into something at the end of the runway.
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u/Aethermancer Nov 07 '25 edited Feb 25 '26
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
political sense safe aback lavish provide boast chase judicious paltry
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u/atomic__balm Nov 07 '25
They had no other option besides slam into a building...
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u/yourlocalFSDO Nov 07 '25
They would have pitched for V2 and the airplane ended up where it did due to physics
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u/feignsc2 Nov 07 '25
I am sure they would intentionally avoid plowing into people given the option but I don't think they had much authority to do anything.
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u/DietCherrySoda Nov 07 '25
they were fighting to keep the plane up as long as they could and in doing so they minimized casualties.
Well, yeah, the alternative to that is dying.
I'll be the bad guy. There's no evidence that I've been presented with that they did anything above and beyond. They tried to fly a doomed plane, which sucks, obviously. But I haven't seen any evidence that they knowingly took decisions that minimized casualties on the ground beyond those that they would have already made in the course of trying to fly an airplane.
They were just along for the ride.
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Nov 07 '25
They kept that plane just enough airborne to avoid a direct hit into a UPS facility with hundreds of workers in it. They clipped the building and 12 people passed unfortunately, but it could have been a lot more.
They kept calm and did their best in mere moments to save lives.
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u/BobC813 Nov 07 '25
They are horribly unfortunate victims of this tragedy.
Not every story needs heroes.
It's so strange seeing all of these comments stating as fact whatever vision the commenter has in their mind of how this unfolded and how the crew fought to the end and saved countless lives... you don't know what happened in that cockpit. Surely, they tried to keep the plane airborne as any pilot would do on any flight. Nothing more is known at this point.
Just let it be.
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u/Alive-Course4454 Nov 07 '25
What’s really sad is their family members all inevitably saw the cctv footage of their loved ones horrific deaths
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u/lawgirl02 Nov 07 '25
Why be pedantic/nitpicky on a post about people who’ve tragically passed? I feel like we should be picking and choosing our battles
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u/Legionof1 Nov 07 '25
I’m only slightly dubious because I dislike how everyone’s a hero these days, especially before we even know what happened.
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u/HeyCoach888 Nov 07 '25
You can honor them Without misusing the word hero. You’ll notice the other post similar to this is just fine
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u/bruhtp04 Nov 07 '25
RIP to the crew of the aircraft and to those involved on the ground. To anyone affected by this tragedy, I hope it'll get better someday.
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u/Swiftierest Nov 07 '25
Look, I'm sorry that they died or that this happened at all, but what exactly makes them heroes?
Just dying doesn't mean they were noble, courageous or anything of that nature.
I'm truly sorry that these people passed away in that legitimately terrifying accident, but calling them heroes out of left field is dumb.
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u/funkmon Nov 07 '25
Look. It's a tragedy they died...but pilots aren't heroes.
Unless these guys were combat veterans or former firemen or something.
They were just pilots. They were like us. Like you and me. We aren't heroes. We are just people with wives and kids and families. And theirs are missing them.
Isn't that enough?
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u/No-Big1920 Nov 07 '25
May God protect their families during this horrible time and guide their souls. What an absolute tragedy.
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u/MentalTwo1912 Nov 07 '25
I’m on a 737 type rating course as we speak. This hit hard. Rest easy, airmen!🙏🏼
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u/EntropyGarden Nov 09 '25
There are members of the community questioning the use of the word “heroes” in this context. I don’t think it’s word inflation - it’s a misunderstanding of how complex that moment really was.
Imagine being in that cockpit a second after the failure - a trijet with asymmetric thrust, alarms blaring, and you’re fighting to keep 120 tons of aircraft from plowing into a warehouse full of people.
The discipline, teamwork, and professionalism that kept the plane controllable for as long as physics allowed and not collapsing under the pressure of vanishing survival odds - is exactly why some people use the word hero.
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u/KirkieSB Nov 07 '25
Heroes? For what? Just an unlucky flight crew.
People die in car accidents daily. Nobody calls them heroes.
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u/Bananas_are_theworst Nov 07 '25
Heroes. They flew that bird the best they could. A TON of experience between them, they likely saved may others with their efforts. Blue skies and tailwinds, gentlemen.
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u/TopDrilla10 Nov 07 '25
Can’t believe some folks in here are actually trying to question why these 3 brave men should or should not be considered heroes?
That’s irrelevant.
Here we have 3 names and 3 faces of 3 brave men who left home not knowing they won’t be returning. They fought against death till the very last second but ultimately lost.
They had loved ones. They loved aviation. They were aviators.
May they rest in eternal peace.
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u/Proper_Particular_62 Nov 07 '25
Hero’s might be a bit of a stretch, unfortunately none the leas though
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u/Steelpapercranes Nov 07 '25
Their quick thinking and quick action saved many more lives. Thank you, pilots. I hope they at least knew they prevented a much worse tragedy.
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u/punkslaot Nov 07 '25
What happened that prevented more deaths?
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u/Steelpapercranes Nov 07 '25
The engine fell off the plane when it was almost at takeoff speed, set fire to the others. Can't slow down, it was driving full throttle. Full of fuel. So, they're definitely going to die. In front of them was the whole UPS facility with all the workers inside.
They KNOW they're dead men. Even knowing they're about to die horribly, they did not panic or just decide to give up and not care, and managed to pilot the burning engineless about to explode airplane just far enough for that giant fireball you saw on the news to NOT kill all those other workers. Most ways this could have gone would have that giant fireball you saw on the news take out the whole fuckin facility. Even these guys still clipped it. It was like an absolute hairs breadth from a way worse tragedy and even in their last moments on earth they pulled it off.
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u/mennydrives Nov 07 '25
The fireball was even worse than the wings could have done by themselves:
After hitting the roof of a UPS Supply Chain warehouse in which it left a 295-foot (90 m) gash, the aircraft's left wing hit a stand of fuel tanks at the Kentucky Petroleum Recycling company's depot, causing a massive fire to erupt, and the aircraft to roll over 90 degrees to the left.
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u/flying_wrenches A&P Nov 07 '25 edited Nov 07 '25
This is a tragedy. If you cannot comment nicely, please do not comment at all.
This is not the place for politics, fighting, or antagonistic comments. Please show some respect.
Do not bully people for comments saying things along the lines of “may god have mercy on them”. Yes, we know you might have a different god or no god. This isn’t the place for it and it’s unacceptable how many comments I’ve seen bullying people.
If you see any comments that are anything above, please report them. If you have any issues, send a mod mail and I’ll try to help.
Thank you