Anyone that lands a plane is a hero to me, if its got one engine, he’s up there with Nelson Mandela, if its got none he’s a GOD. But the Cathay landing, which yesterday was lauded as miraculous, has me wondering! If you have one engine, and that engine is surging…making airspeed control a problem as you descend… surely, as a passenger, you would be well aware that there was some major shit going down… and you might be following it…down! Yet in SCMP, passengers are quoted as saying they didn’t know anything was wrong until told to evacuate the airplane. Cathay has had some negative coverage in the press recently, there’s ongoing protests from cabin crew, local pilots accusing them of racism and a surge of anger about a recent Total Caring Award. Would it be too cynical of me to think that this story has been hijacked? I have no doubt there was a problem on this flight. But I think the story has been blown up and presented to us by some slick PR machine. Not a single source name was used in the piece, it’s all: “A Cathay Pacific spokesman,” or “a colleague.” In fact, one colleague really stuck it to all other airlines and even other Cathay pilots: ”If this had happened on another airline or if this had happened to less skilled and resourceful pilots, there is no way those passengers would all have walked away from that plane alive.” Something about this story just doesn’t fly, in my book. Keep your eyes open for updates.