14 DAY TRIAL // The iPad is one of those things that you simply can’t describe as being able to do “just so many things.” Its versatility is beyond imagination, especially when the situation calls for it.
In case of an emergency, an iPad can assist as an Internet tool, a communications device, a guide to resuscitate someone (if you have the proper apps installed), a live gig tool if your music gear breaks down on stage, etc.
Starting now, you can add one more scenario to the list. As one couple has showed, the Apple tablet can also be used to fly and subsequently land a damaged plane to safety.
An unexpected navigation tool
As the story goes, a pilot and his wife were flying their single-engine plane to Wisconsin from Wyoming on Friday night when the aircraft experienced a full electrical-system failure.
They had no place to land other than Rapid City, which was 80 miles away. The husband and wife cleverly decided to use their iPads to navigate to the regional airport. According to the report, the pilot and his wife had to make due only with airspeed and altitude indicators.
Department Battalion Chief Tim Daly is quoted as saying, “He had to be a super good pilot,” referring to the man’s ability to land the plane in such conditions. According to the Associated Press report, “the pilot landed the plane on its belly. [It] skidded to a stop [with] sparks ... shooting from the bottom of the fuselage.”
Likely a cellular iPad
No navigation apps were mentioned, but we’re guessing at least one of the iPads had cellular capabilities. A WiFi-only iPad wouldn’t make for a very good navigation tool thousands of feet up in the atmosphere.
In related news, Apple is featuring an ad showing the versatility of the iPad from an artistic standpoint. Suddenly this story seems much more fitted as an advertising material.