Max Landing Weight (MLW/MLM) is a TCDS Limitation of the aircraft. While it is possible to exceed it as is the case with every limitation it is still a legal limitation of the aircraft, and to randomly decide to ignore a limitation places your license at risk. You can land overweight when it is a result of a procedure that calls for a land as soon as possible, or where there is a time critical event that affects safety of life. At every other occasion, the pilot is hanging in the breeze on liability as they have breached a pretty basic legal requirement, that is to fly the aircraft within it's limitations. That is an ICAO Annex requirement, so Orange is quite correct, his comment is not courageous, it is legally correct. Are there times that an OWL is justified? absolutely. If the failure to pressurise had resulted in a medical condition, you would be justified to conduct an OWL. To do an OWL, to deliberately breach a certification limitation of the aircraft can be considered reckless operation, (see FAR 91 or FAR 1.3 for a definition). If there is smoke, fill your boots, fire? same... an engine failure? depends, read the blurb.... sometimes absolutely, other times, might depend.
OWL for expediency should have the decision maker in front of the accountable manager explaining his/her/other actions.
Please also note that (IIRC) no OEM conducts auto land demonstrations above MLW(MLM), and most aircraft will have a caution or warning to that effect.
Is it possible to do an OWL, of course it is, assuming the pilot is not a drooling imbecile. Yet, every day, we manage to smack the ground with apparently qualified pilots with very high impact loadings within the normal envelope of the aircraft, so we can't guarantee not breaking planes by actually flying them well even when in the normal case. The OWL issue is a legal issue, not one of ego or competency, and any ICAO SARPS compliant regulator should have a serious concern if the guidance of an airline is "she'll be right, just don't stuff it up" in respect to wilfully disregarding a certified limitation. The follow up question from the regulator is "and what other limitations and regulations do you wilfully disregard?".
If it is a time critical safety matter, fill yer boots, if it is for convenience, log the overtime, IMHO.
Last edited by fdr; 21st May 2023 at 23:59.