Originally Posted by
FullWings
Having had a think about it, this is quite a nasty problem to be handed. Enough damage to require a very non-standard landing, possibly > MLW, plus time pressure as the cowls are coming apart and who knows what the next loose bit is going to hit (it’s already done for the flaps and slats), which restricts the options to a land ASAP.
Some of the things that would be going through my mind are: high DA and with the resultant GS, that’s 1,100fpm to stay on the glide slope, so a flare is definitely required to avoid a crash, but at the same time a float will use a lot of runway. Which runway? The long one or the into-wind one? Will the brakes take it? They are certified to some fairly extreme requirements but does a flapless landing at high altitude and high weight fall within them? Don’t want to get brake fade at 100kts when the reversers are starting to lose their effectiveness, so maybe a lower brake setting and let the reverse take more of a share of the energy removal? Will they catch fire soon afterwards or can we limit that? Lots of stuff to think about in a very short time...
Given the above - and pending more definitive information from the incident investigation including especially the pilots - this incident appears destined to join the current list of examples of why single-pilot cockpits, as well as autonomous aircraft operations, would be very ill-advised at the present time and for a long time to come. Among the best examples has been the Delta flight which dumped fuel as part of an emergency return to Los Angeles after encountering some difficulties (Flight 89 Jan. 14, 2020 - subject of much discussion on the forum). Never have I seen even a bald-faced assertion that even projected future algorithms could have successfully operated the emergency return, approach and landing.
Okay, here's another example. Write the algorithm which solves for all the variables and decisions noted by FullWings. I would say, "I'll wait" but I think I'd be waiting a long, long time.