*Lancer*I agree with what you say. However, I think the point being discussed is just when should a landing be aborted according to SOPs.
As Kaptin M says
The "nasty night" and "wet runway" (as a result of the nasty wx) is PRECISELY the reason an auto-coupled approach, followed by an autoland is made
This is because the auto pilot can guarantee that the approach will be flown right on the numbers and generally be more accurate than if manualy flown. ( OK I know some of you aces reckon you can fly better than the auto pilot, but I am speaking in general terms
)
If James 4 is correct and the touchdown was past the rwy 16 intersection (ie some 700meters past the aiming point if I remember the distances correctly) then I seriously doubt an autoland was being performed at all. As someone who has done CatIII approaches in anger, I would expect the touchdown to be just a short (flare) distance past the aiming point EVERY TIME. If it doesn't happen then it is time to hit the TOGA buttons and get the hell out of there. Remember, the landing distance required on a limiting runway has a 40% buffer over the actual distance required, and sailing on down past the rwy 16 intersection would be rapidly eating up this margin.
Obviously the crew did the right thing with a go-around instead of persisting with the landing. What all us armchair experts are pontificating about is perhaps the go around decision should have been made a lot earlier.
ICTZ's scenario that this happened and an airbone go-around decision was made...
Then the aircraft would have rotated first, and climbed second! Would not be at all surprised if a 150,000kg+ aeroplane had enough downward momentum to touch down near the intersection before the rotation turned it into a climbing aeroplane.
does not stand up to what J4 reported
spoilers come up, then power goes on and round he goes...
because if the power was up before the touchdown then the spoilers would NOT have deployed, and contradicts what J4 said about spoilers up THEN power applied.
I will bet that this has nothing to do with an autoland, but is more likely a landing that got stuffed up in the flare (as happens to all of us
) and the embarrassment was covered up by blaming the aircraft.
