C-17 Tactical Descent, 25000ft to 5000ft in 58 Seconds

Now, I’m no aircraft mechanic or engineer but, I have been on my fair share of planes and if you’ve shared in this wonderful commercial airline experience with me, you would realize that it takes somewhere around 30 minutes for your plane to drop from 30,000 feet down to the runway below to deliver you safely to your destination.

With that descent comes your fair share of ear popping and maybe a little bit of shaking and rattling sometimes if you hit some turbulence. However, most of the time, it’s a nice and smooth journey, for the most part, down to the awaiting runway below unless something unforeseen happens to pop up.

Now, just imagine taking the time that a descent normally takes of that half hour or so and smashing it into less than one minute. When it comes to a tactical descent in a C-17, that’s exactly what it looks like and this time, we get to ride along as a pilot goes down in a hurry.

Check out the video below that takes you from an altitude of 25,000 feet all the way down to a comfortable cruising altitude of just 5000 feet, all within the short span of time that only takes up 58 seconds. I’m not sure about you and I most certainly have never been in a situation like this, but I would think that dropping that quickly would give you one heck of a rush, providing that butterfly feeling in the pit of your stomach while you hold on for dear life!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khBioU1qFVY