Why is it bad taste?Im sure that anyone recreating emergencies do it with expectation of taking the plane down on ground without an accident.I sure and will expect airlines and their pilots or the airplane manufacturers to try to recreate emergencies to try to learn something from the real emergencies.Even if were talking about ordinary people, as myself flying at home in FSX it can be fun and good to try to develop your pilot skills by trying to solve problems that has arised in real life.I would not do that in disrespect of any harmed passengers.

The recreation of emergencies is an integral part of simulator training, else how would we know how to react to them? The recreation of past emergencies is also an important part of understanding what occurred during that emergency and what could be done in the future. It is worth noting that the UAL232 (Sioux City crash with the total hydraulic failure on a DC-10) was recreated several times after the fact in DC-10 simulators in order to attempt to understand the accident and find out what else could have been done to end up with a better outcome. In the end, they found that most people came out with a worse end result, underscoring the need for a relocation of the hydraulic lines and check valves to avoid an issue in the future.I see absolutely no issue with the recreation of emergencies. I'll even push that further to say that if, in the future, I were to be on an aircraft (in whatever capacity) involved in an accident and lessons can be learned from its recreation, I fully support it and encourage it. Consider it a parting gift to the world of aviation.

Aviate, Navigate, CommunicateThe crew will fly the plane first and communicate with control last.About the mayday, I don't think that is accurate. The crew is required to inform ATC of altitude change or flight plan deviations after they've taken any urgent steps, but not to transmit a Mayday call. That will depend on the issue they are having.e.g. If they begin a descent due to a RA by TCAS, they will transmit: "TCAS Descent", not Mayday.

Please note I wrote : whenever a plane can't maintain its assigned altitude. Remember its an emergency - not a relatively small altltude deviation - so you want to let everybody know that you are descending fast, not only ATC but anybody flying in the area. And you do want to get everybody's full attention, hence the mayday call. I remember being told this by a captain with a large european airline and I was surprised too but, unless I misunderstood, that's the way it is. Would be interested in having this confirmed by other rw pilots. Now, as for whether a TCAS alert would warrant a mayday call or not, I don't know.Bruno

Its a great plane, no doubt, but its kinda bad taste to recreate emergencies in my opinion, especially the ones where people were hurt

Remember that there is a difference between emergencies and actual crashes. The whole point of the extensive failure simulation and documentation provided by PMDG is to be able to simulate the former as realistic as possible within the constrains of FSX. Simulating the latter on purpose for personal enjoyment is tasteless no doubt, but a different thing alltogether.I once saw a video on YT recreating the JAL123 crash with the PMDG 744 and the original CVR and ATC records and some dramatic score in the background. Now that was tasteless. Especially since the last seconds before the crash were captured from inside the VC which, as you know, is empty in the sim, yet the crew were desperately shouting at each other and the yoke was jerking around like crazy. It just felt wrong and eerie despite the good intentions and talent of the video's creator. However, like others stated, it can be very interesting to recreate real life emergencies and their consquences and see if you can handle them. I don't know about you, but doing 8+ hour flights in Managed Mode from Departure to Approach isn't the only thing that I want to do. I sim purely for fun and system failures present a welcome challenge and distraction. It's cool to see that the software I purchased does actually simulate the aircraft it's modelled on and is not just a superficial imitate.

There is nothing wrong with simulating emergencies, however, there's a very big difference between simulating an emergency and recreating one. One is harmless, the other one is tasteless in my opinion. It doesnt have to end in a crash for it to be out of line.

In the case of an emergency descent as in an explosive depressurisation you "MUST" follow the manuel. Here is an extract from the VC10Your first action in the case of the above is to get down to a breathable altitude as quickly as possible. You do your checklist and "MAYDAY" on the way down. Changing the transponder code automatically alerts ATC and your TCAS (forget about your TCAS in an emergency)!!As to how to fly the descent (I've done it twice in real life!!!) Fly the needle to the barber pole. BUT, take care to pull back into the buffet zone as you approach FL240 otherwise you will rapidly overspeed. This is well represented in the sim. You can see from the checklists above that the captain and the co-pilot are "flying" the aeroplane.I recommend you read "Flying the Big Jets" by D.P. Davies. He explains and covers this issue very clearly. This book BTW was standard issue to BA pilots when I flew with them. Remember also that "your" oxygen supply is separate from that of the pax so you are not limited to the same 12-15 minute supply as they are. Also, as in the VC10 your cockpit may have the luxury of a separate air supply (very usefull if there is smoke in the cabin!!!!)vololiberista

I have tried to re-create this in FSX with the PMDG MD-11 but have not managed to get within the 2 mins and 30 seconds limit.

Well I assume the real emergency was on a much smaller airplane, trying to match it on an MD-11 is not really fair...

There is nothing wrong with simulating emergencies, however, there's a very big difference between simulating an emergency and recreating one. One is harmless, the other one is tasteless in my opinion. It doesnt have to end in a crash for it to be out of line.

Hello, Im sorry if I used some bad wording, keep in mind that english is not my mother tounge... I simulate these ocassions with only the systems and procedures in mind, thats my flight simming, I dont take passengers and others factors into account, thats gaming IMHO. Best regardsJohan

Interesting thread. I have 8,000 hours in real world business jets of various varieties although not aircarrier. Points to consider(teach in real world high dollar simulators now): When crew pulls plug and starts plunge, ATC sees it immediately and has authority to declare emergency. If rapid or explosive decompression, most passengers will initially pass out. Without oxygen, brain starts to die or have permanent brain damage in 5-6 minutes so it is a life or death matter to quickly get the aircraft down into the 10-20,000' range. In the GPS era it is good thinking to start a turn as emer descent is initiated since with GPS accuracy there might be someone directly below you. Cockpit communications with other crew or ATC will be iffy at best until at lower altitudes. Some jets but not others have emergency descent mode where if one pilot retards throttles and deploys speed brakes the aircraft on autopilot will execute emergency descent to predetermined altitude.The jets I teach will do the 2 1/2 minute emer descent if initiated promptly. Huge issue is getting O2 mask on effectively in first few seconds. Imagine getting the wind knocked out of you and a dense fog appearing simultaneosly. Very disorientating. We practice it with each crew during each training visit.

Hello, Im sorry if I used some bad wording, keep in mind that english is not my mother tounge... I simulate these ocassions with only the systems and procedures in mind, thats my flight simming, I dont take passengers and others factors into account, thats gaming IMHO. Best regardsJohan

Johan,In that case start with a CABIN ALTITUDE warning, triggered via the failure options.QRH EP 10.4 will give the checks/handling required. (Don mask, your option)When cabin altitude cannot be controlled and an emergency descent is needed, follow the procedure at this page, cause it is easier to continue here, than flipping pages with a mask on.After the descent, continue with the reference Christos suggested, EP 20.7, for the items remaining after descent.Regards,HarryEnjoy the system and procedure operation this aircraft offers.Regards,Harry

Whilst on the subject of emergencies this is not something to relish. In this a/c max safe speed is V2+60kts in this situation.vololiberista