If you are reading this in mid-air over America and the cabin starts to tilt down suddenly, don't be surprised: you are just experiencing an "unstabilised approach". This is pilot-speak for when an aircraft has to swoop swiftly down to land, because a normal, unhurried (and inherently safer) descent would mean missing a scarce landing slot. At least one leading American airline has noticed a 30% rise in such landings during the past six months, mostly over California, as America's skies become more crowded and its creaking air-traffic-control system fails to cope.
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