Originally Posted by
CaptainMongo
5-6 years ago on approach the gear wouldn’t come down (A320). Like any good Captain, I asked the FO what the hell he did!
FO then proceeded to follow the ECAM. I said no, that’s a “special” (thats what we call OEB’s) I told him to go to the QRH for the procedure. He started with that, and I said that doesn’t sound right either, then I remembered the “specials” were only published in the Flight Manual. He opened the flight manual and we applied that procedure - the gear came down on the third try.
I’ll be honest, when the gear didn’t come down my stress level went through the roof - landing gear up wasn’t and isn’t on my “to do” list. Normally we want the Captain to relinquish control of the aircraft and radios to the FO in a non normal with the Captain handling the checklist. In this case I didn’t do that and I believe that allowed me to think more clearly about what I remembered the special to be and that what the FO was reading the first two times didn’t correspond to that memory.
Long story to say I don’t like OEB’S either, I get why they are necessary but I don’t like them.
We have a similar setup where "normally" the FO will fly, but it's up to the CA to decide ultimately. Glad it worked out for you. I'd have thought being PM would give you more clarity, but it's all situation-dependent, now isn't it?