Aviation: Touchdown by Computer

British European Airways Trident Flight 343 approached London Airport one afternoon last week on a regular run from Paris. Captain Eric Poole sat in the cockpit, and the 80 passengers fastened their seat belts for the landing. The plane settled easily into the final approach and made a perfect touch down. But it was by no means a routine landing. As the plane taxied off the run way, Captain Poole got on the intercom to give his unsuspecting passengers a bit of a jolt: "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "the approach to the runway and the touchdown have been...

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