This was a true story, a 757 became doomed and fell from the sky, all died.
Points to consider
1. The Captain was an experienced pilot with over 20,000 flight hours on 757 models.
2. The Senior Pilot was on his 60's.
3. The 757 was parked for 3 weeks.
First of all, I am not a pilot.
During all my mandatory pre-flight checks, which include static and functional ones, I would have made sure that all my electronic readings matched the actual analog numbers, especially and specifically the airplane's airspeed prior to the V1 acceleration phase.
Inside the cockpit there should be one EAS, if not two, if there was a pilot and co-pilot flying a commercial airplane, both numbers must match before V1, and the captain has to call out these parameters in kilometers per hour to match the copilot's numbers. If the airspeed numbers do not match before V1, that alone warrants an RTO or emergency return after the V1 phase.
Whatever happened here, I blame the pilot for the negligence that led to the death of everyone, including himself.
The aircraft was climbing with the autopilot engaged at an altitude of 30 thousand feet, the pilot noticed (again) that both airspeed readings did not match, the pilot's airspeed reading and the copilot's airspeed reading, and he doesn't know what to do at that point, or much worse, which instrument to trust.
This true emergency requires quick critical thinking because at that altitude, continuing to climb will cause the wing pressure to lose the aerodynamic that keeps it in the air.
I did notice that, during the acceleration phase, seconds before reaching V1 speed, the captain not only noticed this discrepancy, but also did not tell the speed to the copilot and the copilot also ignored this step. This was his first and utter negligence.
What followed was a series of technical errors and late reactions to fix the problem.
If this problem occurs during at night and, if due to high altitude the pilot cannot use visual, I (a) disengage the autopilot, (b) declare a Mayday emergency, (c) lower the nose -20 degrees, (d) idle all engines, (e) extend the flaps to maximum and feel the air resistance caused by high airspeed, (d) apply the air brakes to confirm if there is a longitudinal G-force.
If a G-force is felt, it means the aircraft has excessive speed or if nothing is felt after applying the air brakes, it means two things: you are actually flying too high in altitude or you are flying too slow, either or you descend 20,000 feet and repeat (d). Also, and very important, it is useful to have a smartphone all the time to confirm all these parameters when the cockpit parameters are in doubt.
By extending the flaps with 10% increments or Position (1), you will feel the air drag dragging under the wings, and the more you increase the angle, the type of drag force pattern will increase at that point you stop extending the flaps to avoid breaking something but I am sure the flaps will withstand that type of pressure.
When an aircraft is passing certification, all parameters must be consistent with the aircraft forward airspeed and procedure meaning, the landing gear can not be retracted if the flaps are not extended and, if there is no landing procedure in place; or vice versa, the landing gear can not be extended if the flaps are retracted or "flaps Zero" and, at cruising speed. In order for a pilot to be able to do all these parameters outside the normal procedure, he must disconnect the actual computer that control these parameters.
Therefore, with the proper emergency parameters set, you start gliding like the space shuttle at -30 degrees while getting a sense of the actual airspeed using the air brakes to avoid getting into critical phases like overspeed or mechanical engine stall. There is no other way out of that state of confusion and disorientation where the cockpit readings don't match and you have zero forward visibility.
To take full control of the doomed plane, you must shut down all computers, including the cockpit lighting, where only the engines are on. A doomed plane means it has no aerodynamic control. The only possible way to recover a doomed plane is to somehow keep the nose where it is supposed to be, forward. Even a doomed plane flying upside down can be recovered with the right maneuver and the right altitude.
The benefit of being at high altitude is that you can fall 10 to 50 meters per second while regaining control of the doomed aircraft.
It's always recommended to have a smartphone available in the invent the cockpit numbers are in doubt.
If the airplane you are flying is certified for a certain altitude, then as you go above that altitude the flight capabilities and aerodynamics will be reduced. So if the airplane is certified for a ceiling of 30,000 feet, then as you climb to 40,000 feet the airplane will feel like a car going down a wet road at high speed; at 50,000 feet the airplane will start to fly like the space shuttle in outer space, where there is no sense of direction or aerodynamics and it will be doomed to failure also losing forward speed, at which point it becomes a dead stick where recovering is nearly impossible.
At this point if given the case, I do know what to do to recover the doomed aircraft that is flying backwards or sideways as if it were in outer space so to speak, however convincing the crew and pilot will be the problem, so yes, we will all die if that were to happen.
