异类之不一样的成功启示录 第143期:机长决定目测着陆

 　　In the month the glide¹ scope had been under repair, there had been something like 1,500 safe landings at Guam airport.

　　在“跑道射灯”进行修理的那个月里，已经有1500架飞机都安全着陆在关岛机场。

　　It was a small thing-an inconvenience, really, that make the task of landing a plane just a little bit more difficult.

　　这只是个小问题——不方便而已，真的只会给降落增加了一点困难。

　　"The second complication was the weather," Brenner continued. "Normally in the South Pacific, you've got these brief weather situations.

　　博瑞纳继续说道:“第二个因素是天气问题，通常在南太平洋，这样的天气你会收到天气预报。

　　But they go back quickly. You don't have storms. It's a tropical paradise.

　　而且天气变化很快，一般都不会有暴风雨，这里是热带气候的天堂。

　　But that night, there was some little cells, and it just happens that that evening, they were going to be flying into one of those little cells, a few miles from the airport.

　　但是那天晚上，上空有云层，而且也就只有那天晚上有，当时，他们就在距机场几英里以外的地方，刚刚就要进入云层地带。”

　　So the captain has to decide.What exactly is my procedure for landing?

　　因此，机长此刻必须决定，究竟需要采取哪种程序来进行着陆。

　　Well，they were cleared for what's called a VOR/DME approach. It's complicated.It's a pain in the ass².

　　他们接到指令使用航路全向信标／测距仪（VOR/DME）下降程序。这很复杂，很难处理。

　　It takes a lot of coordination³ to set it up. You have to calm down in steps.

　　这需要很多协调工作进行跟进，你必须按步骤执行，

　　But then, as it happens, from miles out, the captain sees the lights of Guam. So he relaxes.

　　但是，当机长在几英里外看到关岛的灯光时，他感到很放松。

　　And he says, 'We're doing a visual approach.'"

　　并且他说：“我们进行目测着陆。”

　　The VOR is a beacon⁴ that sends out a signal that allows the pilots to calculate their altitude as they approach an airport.

　　当飞行员接近机场时，可以依靠VOR发送信号的灯光，帮助他们计算距离地面的高度。

　　It's what pilots would rely on before the invention of the glide scope.

　　在跑道射灯没有发明以前，飞行员就是依靠这个来计算高度的。

　　The captain's strategy was to use the VOR to get the plane close, and then once he could see the lights of the runway, to land the plane visually.

　　机长的策略是先使用VOR让飞机接近机场，然后一旦看见跑道的灯光，就使用目测着陆。

　　Pilots do visual landings all the time. It seemed to make sense.

　　这看来很可行，飞行员经常做目测着陆。

　　But every time a pilot chooses a plane, he is supposed to prepare a backup in case things go awry⁵.And this captain didn't.

　　而且每次飞行员采用一种计划时，都应该同时还有一种备选计划，以防止意外情况发生。但这位机长没有这样做。

　　"They should have been coordinating⁶.You should have been briefing for the (DME) step-downs," Brenner went on."But he doesn't talk about that.

　　“驾驶舱内应该进行协调，机长应该告知大家将DME放慢，但是他没有讲。”班瑞纳继续说道，

　　The storm cells are all around them, and what the captain seems to be doing is assuming that at some point he's going to break out of the clouds and see the airport.

　　“暴风雨天气正包围着他们，看起来机长认为他可以穿越云层而且已看到机场，

　　And if he doesn't see it, by 560 feet, he'll just go around. Now, that would work, except for one thing.

　　如果他在560英尺的高度依然看不见，他就会复飞，现在那看起来比较可行，除了另一件事，

　　The VOR on which he's basing his strategy is not at the airport.It's 2.5 miles away on Nimitz Hill.

　　机长使用的VOR程序定位并不是在机场内，而是在2.5英里以外的尼米兹山上。

1 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

2 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

3 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

4 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

5 awry   

adj.扭曲的，错的

参考例句：

• She was in a fury over a plan that had gone awry. 计划出了问题，她很愤怒。
• Something has gone awry in our plans.我们的计划出差错了。

6 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白