Originally Posted by
Escape Path
Maybe not as a part of the step by step procedure but...
"SPD: Max/appropiate. The landing gear may be extended. In this case speed must be reduced to Vlo/Vle"
That’s one of the 2 points that prompted me to open the post . Is there a chance that airbus placed the Vlo/Vle to be respected also in terms of the Mach limitation?
Consider the emergency descent scenario with structural damage . In this occasion you would commence the descent in speed mode instead of Mach mode . If you are quite high (I.e over 35000ft ) and you decide to extend the gear to help in increasing your descent rate , if you respect the VLO_extension in terms of Mach (0.60) then you will have to reduce your speed significantly or wait to get quite lower ( it is at 25000 ft that the 0.60M will equate to 250kts ) . However if you respect the VLO_extention in terms of speed ( 250kt ) then your current cruise Mach will be already very close to 250 kt when you initiate the descent so you could extent the gear practically as you read the QRH.
So here comes the big question . Do we respect the AFM limitation which is only given in terms of speed ( and thus gives as greater flexibility) or the FCOM limitation which is also given in Mach ( thus restricts us at higher altitudes )