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raddevus wrote:

I take issue with the word "roll". I think it should be called the Dutch Yaw, because from what the (terribly uninformative) youtube / newscast(er) described, I believe it was a yaw and in no way a roll.
If I hear a jet-liner rolled I'm thinking serious stuff. But this was a yaw, like turning to the right and back to the left.
You think maybe they were trying to sensationalize the story a bit?
No, no, not the news.

A Dutch Roll is actually a roll that occurs as a result of a yaw. If you're flying an airplane that has swept wings, and yaw is induced, then it can happen. I've never heard of it being a danger to the flight of an airliner.

When a yaw does occur, it causes the plane to roll as though you were controlling the ailerons. A yaw can change the rate of airflow over each wing differently. Hence, the wing that encounters an increased airflow generates more lift. The wing with a lower airflow produces less lift. Thus, a roll occurs.

And yes, the news of this event is WAY overhyped.