  The decay of turbulent and laminar oblique bands in the lower transitional
range of plane Couette flow is studied by means of direct numerical simulations
of the Navier--Stokes equations. We consider systems that are extended enough
for several bands to exist, thanks to mild wall-normal under-resolution
considered as a consistent and well-validated modelling strategy. We point out
a two-stage process involving the rupture of a band followed by a slow
regression of the fragments left. Previous approaches to turbulence decay in
wall-bounded flows making use of the chaotic transient paradigm are
reinterpreted within a spatiotemporal perspective in terms of large deviations
of an underlying stochastic process.
