Sleepy Pilot Puts Plane in Nosedive After Confusing the Planet Venus With Oncoming Aircraft
- Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:36am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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Embarrassment and relief. Those are probably at least two of the emotions of an Air Canada pilot who sent his plane into a nosedive after confusing the glowing planet of Venus with another oncoming aircraft.
According to ABC News, the mixup occurred because the pilot was sleepy and just waking up from a nap. And while the pilot’s relief for not hitting the fictitious plane, that was probably short lived: his nosedive almost led to a collision with a real plane 1,000 ft lower. Additionally, 16 people were injured as a result.
A simulation of what the pilot would have saw that night. (ABC)
It all happened on Jan 14, 2011 on a flight from Toronto to Zurich. So why are we hearing about it now? Because Air Canada originally blamed the injuries on “severe turbulence.” But that was only part of the story. ABC explains:
According to the report, the plane’s first officer had been sleeping, as is permitted by Air Canada on transatlantic flights, when he was awakened by the pilot‘s report of the plane’s position.
The pilot indicated that a U.S. Air Force cargo plane was approaching the Air Canada 767-300 at an elevation about 1,000 feet below the passenger jet.
The “confused and disoriented” first officer, however, believed that the planet Venus was the approaching plane, and was coming right at the Air Canada jet. He forced the plane into a dive.
Passengers who were not wearing seatbelts, many of them asleep, were slammed into the ceiling and overhead bins.
Realizing what had happened, the pilot was able to pull the plane out of the dive after it had descended 400 feet. The U.S. military plane passed safely underneath.
“It looks like the headlight on an airplane,” Joseph Rao of the American Museum of Natural History in New York told ABC in explaining Venus. “It’s exceedingly bright. It doesn’t twinkle, it’s not like a star in that it twinkles. It looks like a steady, white spot of light in the sky. In fact we call it the evening star but they really should call it the evening lantern because it is so much brighter than any of the other stars.”
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BULLDOG98
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 1:27amI think this might be one of the reasons they would give to keep your seat belt fastened while you are seated even if the seat belt sign is off.
Report Post »qzak491
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 3:37pm.
Report Post »Considering what must have happened in the passenger cabin, I bet the pilot wasn’t the only one wanting to land in a hurry to clean up the mess.
BlessedONE333
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 1:08pmBTW – HE DID NOT SEE VENUS – he saw huge white light
NASA often uses the same lie of ‘venus’ when they want to dismiss any unidentified event in the sky or sea.
BUT YOU ALL BETTER WAKE UP – —-
google PROJECT BLUEBEAM
google UFO NEPHILIM CHUCK MISSLER
that is if you want to learn the truth about stuff – BUT if you like being ignorant – then by all means rant about my comments here and don’t learn anything outside the tv NWO lies.
lol
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:24pmI once saw a meteor coming right at me–no bearing drift whatsoever! It looked like a planet, then it glowed bright green (and I mean BRIGHT), then it glowed bright blue (even BRIGHTER), then, poof, it was gone–just about the time I alerted my watch-mate to the ‘weird light’! I was sailing in the Atlantic, about 150 miles southeast of New York City on my way from Bermuda to Milford, CT. It was about 3am, no Moon, really dark, except for this event! It took me awhile to figure out what I had seen.
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 12:24pmImagine what he does when he sees Uranus …….lol
Report Post »right-wing-waco
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 12:59pmThe name of Uranus is being change due to the numerous bad jokes that happen due to the name. There were thousands of suggestions and much thought went into the change. The government even got involved and the final choice was…. UrRectum.
Report Post »Marci
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 3:22pmVenus does look like a plane. I live within 5 miles of an airport and often confuse it for a plane in the sky, but figure it out quickly when it is the only one not moving! It seems odd that a pilot would mistake it for a plane, but if he was sleeping and woke up to a bright light staring directly at him, guess that’s what happens……
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:26pmMarci, the ones that are moving are not a problem as they will either pass to port or starboard or above or below. The one that will ‘get you’ is the one with NO BEARING DRIFT!
Report Post »Flapjack
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 11:11amHey, the guy did the right thing. THE most effective means for aircraft separation is still see and avoid, and even though all airliners have TCAS nowadays it still is not 100% reliable, and ATC can sometimes screw up. There are many variables when it comes to transponder readouts and ATC traffic advisories so it‘s not completely unlikely that the aircraft that was reported 1000’ below them could have been at their altitude. Taking naps on the flight deck is perfectly normal and often done during times of low workload (e.g. cruise flight) although there will always be either the first officer or capt. still awake and monitoring the aircraft. Poor guy must have had quite a shock, I can see easily how he could seen venus as another aircraft approaching head on. If you‘ve never experienced nighttime on the flight deck then don’t be so quick to judge. Must have been quite a ride for the passengers too, Imagine waking up from your nap to find yourself weightless and then slammed into the cabin ceiling. (Great way to wake someone up btw, I’ve done it to passengers in small private aircraft before)
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:35pmOne of the problems with the new, digital age, is that an error will often place you in EXACTLY the wrong spot! In the old days, pilots would throw in a bit of error to reduce the chance of a collision, a couple of hundred feet high or low, a few hundred feet to the left or right of course would add a margin of safety. There have been a number of instances where trans-Atlantic flights have been on EXACTLY the wrong course, due to miscommunication. If not corrected, these would have led to a collision. There should always be a pair of eyes looking out the window. Dozing in the seat, however authorized, removes a pair of eyeballs from the scan. But, fatigue can be a problem, too, so it’s a tradeoff! Apparently, the co-pilot was alert enough to hear the traffic-call from an approaching aircraft and jump to attention–it’s just that Venus was in exactly the right spot to demand evasive maneuvers! By the way, i NEVER sit in an aircraft seat without the belt at least loosely fastened–it’s too easy to get banged around in this or an air turbulence event!
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:43amPoor guy. No one is dead right? But lets publicly humiliate him? way to go abc news top notch investigative reporting. Maybe its time to ad some green lights to the planes or blue with the red and white. Venus is gorgeous though
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:38pmMaybe they ought to hang anticollision lights on Venus! Hey, I could start a company, the govt could give me millions and I could return a ‘small’ portion in appreciation fees to the right PAC and use the rest for salaries until we’re shut down by the realities of the marketplace!
Report Post »sparkspeaks
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:36amThere is NO media discussion about this polar shift thing and the Planet X that has been seen twice now since Jan. Why is no one discussing this? We know it’s out there. We know that it is having affects on our gravitational field, but there is no education occurring concerning it. Why is this information being
Report Post »held silent?
RRFlyer
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:02amAre you crazy? Loon.
Report Post »Kelso
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 10:29amSay what you are talking about instead of the cloak and dagger treatment of your conversation. No one here is impressed with vagueness, speak your mind in clear, earth-like language please.
Report Post »Watchyer6
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 11:56amAre you daft?
Report Post »BlessedONE333
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 12:57pm@ sparkspeaks I hear your frustration – but here is the deal —– according to ‘officials’ I have spoken to over the years – they say “there is nothing we can do to stop a cataclysmic event, so why ‘panic’ people?”
in other words – most people are too stupid or too weak to really comprehend anything outside their tiny experiences. I mean come on – obama was elected with a landslide – do you really think those idiots can handle the coming wars, famine, possible pole shift etc? pfffft – no way.
JUST REMEMBER THESE WORDS AND YOU WILL NOT WORRY –
Romans 8:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
SO… basically don’t worry about what comes – just trust in Yeshua our savior.
Report Post »YHWH our loving God knows your heart, knows your fear, just give it all to Him. Share the truth with as many people as you can before anything might happen this year and into the next.
sparkspeaks
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:32amWhen are we going to a REAL discussion about the coming Planet X and the Polar Shift?
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 10:40amLast year’s Japanese Quakes… slightly affected the pole… perhaps changing weather patterns. But, the Moon keeps the Planet stable… even though it moves away at an inch per year. On the other hand… a potential Planet X would be so far away as not affect the Gravitational Field. And, as we know from Einstein, Space is Curved, creating a Push Down on Planets, called Gravity.
So, I am more worried about what Obama is doing… rather than Planet X!
Report Post »BlessedONE333
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 12:59pmRomans 8:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
all things must be this way in order to bring along the world‘s understanding and God’s plan.
Just don’t trust anyone who is not a born again believer in Yeshua our Christ
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 3:11pm@ LUKERW, You obviously have fallen for the Einstein theory of gravity and time. First off, let me say that his ideas are entirely innacurate and that they were “proven” by an entirely off base method. Time does not change as you speed up or approach a source of gravity. What does happen is that your observation of light moving in the same direction as you becomes dimmer and it appears to slow down because it is taking longer for the light from the source to reach you. It does not mean that time is slowing down.
Report Post »Furthermore, he tried to “prove” that gravity bends space and time by saying that he observed the light from a star that should have been behind the sun during a solar eclipse. Well, light radiates not in one direction, but in ALL directions. If light really does have mass, then it would make more sense that the light seen was from a ray tangential to the straight line between earth and the predicted position of the star. All the light had to do was bend towards the massive gravity of the sun. Einstein says that it was directed AWAY FROM and then towards the sun. Which makes more sense? Something falling toward a gravitational field, or something falling away from gravity and then towards it on the other side?
Ialmostforgot
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:20amWhere was the co-pilot?
Report Post »teamarcheson
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:27amThis Story Is Almost As Good As The Secret Service Columbia Story.
Venus looks like a star. The Secret Service Columbia story is a cover story for something more serious.
Report Post »Dismayed Veteran
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:36amThe First Pilot is title for the co-pilot.
Report Post »Zipit
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:59amHe was the co-pilot/first officer. And Venus is much brighter than any star in the sky, giving off a constant yellowish glow, much like that of a nose gear or landing light of an oncoming aircraft. It’s one bright orb man!
Report Post »right-wing-waco
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 11:06amteamarcheson,
Venus is VERY bright and does look like an approaching aircraft landing light.
Sparkspeaks,
Report Post »We found “planet x” in the 1930′s. It’s called Pluto. Also, don’t worry about the “pole reversal” as IF it happens, you will probably be dead along with everyone else.
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:56am.
Report Post »I bet his butt had a Kung Fu Grip on the seat LOL…….
searching for the Truth
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:54amVisual cues can happen.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 10:42amNight Flying… can be Weird!
Report Post »