Jeff and the Gang,

 

I spent quite a bit of time yesterday researching the Dalton scenario.  There was solid overcast (at least as reported by automated stations) covering virtually all his gliding range.  The ceiling at Dalton was 4,200.  He was 3.5 miles from Dalton at 21,000 feet.  So this really isn't about best glide or glide range.  It's about making a dead stick letdown through an overcast layer, breaking out and getting properly set up for landing from about 4,000 AGL.

 

That's certainly "doable", but challenging to say the least.  The difference between a safe landing and something else is where the training comes in.  Whether he was groggy from lack of O2, or he got disoriented in the clouds, or whether he just misjudged the glide, we'll probably never know for sure.

 

Mike Easley

Colorado Springs