Plane Stopped in Midair

"DM" wrote in message
...
Yesterday I saw a cargo jet (a major air express company) come to what
seemed like a dead stop in midair as it was making its ascent. After
about 20 - 30 seconds of hanging without dropping out of the sky, it
continued climbing and apparently did not crash. There's been nothing
about it in the local news but I've still been very concerned. Could
someone here explain how such a thing is possible?

Some details: the temperature was about 50 degrees F, the sky was
mostly clear, and the time was around 0645. I was traveling by car at
about 40 MPH on a street that is parallel to a regular flight path.
From this street it's common to see 3 or 4 planes per minute either
climbing or descending; the airport is about a mile or two away from
this particular street.

As I was moving relatively slowly compared to the how fast the jet
should have been moving, I noticed that I was gaining on it. I quickly
eyeballed the area for tall buildings and other geographical reference
points so I could be sure that I had a good perspective and wasn't
just "seeing things". The object was either not moving or it was
moving *very* slowly, and it was not a helicopter. For a few seconds I
was stopped at an intersection looking at this hanging plane and at
the people in the other cars around me. No one else seemed to be
paying any attention to it besides me.

The main reason this bothered me so much is because had the plane
fallen, it would have landed less than a half mile from where I and
about 30 other running cars were, in addition to several
warehouse-type buildings and auto repair garages, plus a 6 or 8 lane
freeway filled with morning traffic. Since the plane had just taken
off and was probably full of fuel, and was still low enough for its
markings to be readable from the ground, the crash probably would have
been extraordinarily disastrous.

I've done a lot of Googling to try to get an understanding of what I
saw and really haven't learned anything meaningful. I'm hoping someone
here can explain how a "regular" jet--versus a specialized military
jet--can apparently stop in midair and not drop from the sky. As a
daily traveler near a major metro airport, I'd really like to be
reassured that this is not a common occurrence.

Debbie

A pilot acquaintance of mine in Montana (Larry) flies a Super Cub to
inspect pipelines. Sometimes, when it's windy, he confounds drivers on
the Interstate by flying backwards above them. Not a problem; it's only
airspeed that matters.

John Lowry
Flight Physics