George B
Extinct but not forgotten Staff Member
Rico,George,
Steering a plane by hand is not, that, difficult.
The concept on how it works can be taught to a 9 year old. If the building is drifting up on the window, the plane is going to undershoot it. If it is drifting to the left, then the plane is going to pass to the right. If it is straight ahead and getting larger, the plane is going to hit it dead on. It's EASY. Point the plane so the building is in front of you, and it's done deal. The accuracy and reliability of the hijackers are not rocket science here. We are talking about a 208 ft wide building many stories high here. It is a BIG target.
The hijackers were licensed pilots. Licensed pilots can land a plane with the nose wheel touching the centre line with a width the size of a man's shoulder. A proficient pilot can glide a plane and touch down at a specific point almost zero lateral error and on target. Pull up some cockpit videos of airplanes landing on youtube if you don't believe me.
The process of trying to hack into the in-flight computer takes much more work than simply just doing it by hand. You don't need laser-point accuracy to hit a building. Why go into so much depth to do so otherwise?
And besides, a Boeing 767 navigation suite has lateral and vertical navigation as it is. There is no point hacking into the system to ensure mission success. Did you know that manual inputs on the aircraft would disconnect the autopilot anyways? A little bit of software coding into the flight management system isn't going to change that. It is also incredibly absurd to mess with the computer while it's on in flight.
There is also the extra length that the hijackers would have to smuggle a few extra tools, including a screwdriver, as part of their carry-on. But the point is: they don't need to.
If I were in their shoes, I would have jumped in the cockpit, dialed in a waypoint for new york on the flight management computer to navigate there, disconnect the autopilot when I see new york, steer (probably at a lower speed), and accelerate. Not that I would do that, but that's keeping it simple. I don't have to bust any panels, I don't have to mess with an already working navigation suite, and I don't have to smuggle on extra equipment.
The flight profile for 175 was steep and wobbly. I doubt AA flight 11 was much different. This shows signs that it was hand flown.
What you say may be right on . . .but, if so, why would any experienced pilot EVER say they don't think an inexperienced pilot could have hit or at least have significant problem hitting the towers? Also, there would be no hacking . . . the hacking has already been done by the programmers. . . .the hijackers find an import port and download . . . everything else is automatic no conscious interference by the hijackers . . . they may have been instructed not to interfere with the controls once the code took over . . .