frequentflyer2
20th Feb 2006, 14:55
Several years ago I and Mrs. Frequentflyer2 were travelling from BHD to MAN on a BA Embraer 145 - or as you professionals seem to refer to it a 'barbie jet'.
It was a beautiful summer's morning and the flight was very pleasant. However, during the approach, just minutes from landing, 'barbie' freaked out rolling violently to one side and then the other. Simultaneously she appeared to shake and judder and the hitherto peaceful cabin filled with shall we say 'exclamations of surprise'. The pilot applied full power and climbed before explaining we had struck the wake vortex of a much larger airliner. Had anyone been standing up they would undoubtedly have been thrown around and injured. 'Barbie' went on to land safely but as the incident occurred directly over Stockport Sewage Works we have reflected since then on how close we came to literally landing in the proverbial. Perhaps a professional pilot reading this could advise on how much danger we were actually in. To be truthful it was quite scary at the time.
It was a beautiful summer's morning and the flight was very pleasant. However, during the approach, just minutes from landing, 'barbie' freaked out rolling violently to one side and then the other. Simultaneously she appeared to shake and judder and the hitherto peaceful cabin filled with shall we say 'exclamations of surprise'. The pilot applied full power and climbed before explaining we had struck the wake vortex of a much larger airliner. Had anyone been standing up they would undoubtedly have been thrown around and injured. 'Barbie' went on to land safely but as the incident occurred directly over Stockport Sewage Works we have reflected since then on how close we came to literally landing in the proverbial. Perhaps a professional pilot reading this could advise on how much danger we were actually in. To be truthful it was quite scary at the time.