Two’s in: +1 from me, well said, although I find the SOF and MEL to be less deserving of censure than the other supervisors. I am inclined to think that the wording ‘gear unsafe’ was very unhelpful to them; plain English is usually best in stressful situations, and by the dictionary definition the gear was clearly in an ‘unsafe’ condition in this case. ‘Gear unlocked’ would be a more accurate title for the drill as underwritten by L-M and would have made it more likely that the SOF would seek technical advice. I read the MEL’s comments during the recovery as a supportive gesture intended to reassure the MP - a ‘that was asking too much of you, don’t beat yourself up’ type of comment - but judging by the way sh*t seems to roll downhill in this report I wouldn’t be surprised if they get the harshest treatment when the worst supervisory failings lie elsewhere.
alf,
The ‘duck under’ which you describe is commonly taught in fast jet ops (it was SOP in RAF flying training and on my front line types, can’t comment on others) and is intended to bring the touchdown point back towards the threshold after achieving visual references. Fast jets (and the F-16 is a case in point) often have relatively poor stopping performance compared to heavies, particularly if failure conditions emerge during the landing run, making touchdowns at or beyond the instrument approach aiming point somewhat undesirable. ‘Nothing more useless than runway behind you’, etc. The result is that a PAPI transition from 2W/2R at decision, through 1W/3R into 4R is totally normal and expected. A rule of thumb when assessing pilots on my type was 4R no earlier than 100ft above touchdown (with 2.5 degree PAPIs ~1200 feet in). I don’t see the diagram as at all misleading; what appears to have happened is the MP mistook the approach lighting crossbar for the threshold (with excessive clutter in the HUD - ie lots of green to distract from the true threshold lights) and hence ‘ducked under’ by too much. An error rooted in the stress experienced by an inexperienced pilot under exceptionally poor supervision: the root cause in my opinion.
Last edited by Easy Street; 13th Nov 2020 at 16:18.