Another good one: “Many of the crew members were keenly aware that jumbo jets such as theirs were not designed for dead-stick flight — let alone dead-stick landings. In all probability, their inevitable confrontation with the Earth would not be an improvement on their current situation.”
Also, "First Officer Quintal caught sight of the fleeing families, but it was far too late to revise their landing plans, so he opted not to distract the captain with the unsettling discovery."
And "Some grizzled old pilots swear that sometimes, when the wind is just right on a quiet night, you can just about make out the double-engine-failure BONG! as the old girl is flying by; and if you’re very lucky, you might catch the faint odor of damp pilots in the air."
"The Guide says that there is an art to flying,” said Ford, “or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” He smiled weakly. He pointed at the knees of his trousers and held his arms up to show the elbows. They were all torn and worn through.
“I haven’t done very well so far,” he said." - Douglas Adams, HHGTTG
The "not designed for dead-stick flight" is a bit off. Of course they are not designed to be gliders, but they are designed to be efficient, which means they have a reasonably high lift/drag ratio (in the range of 15–20 for most airliners). They glide quite well.
Indeed, it suprises people that light aircraft generally have a glide ratio comparable with a brick, whilst airliners are generally quite efficient given the incredible size.
