Originally Posted by Rainboe
It's difficult discussing something observed anything up to 25 years ago now. Being a 747, it is unlikely he was wondering around trying to find final aproach- it would have been done with the knowledge and consent of ATC. Maybe they did get a mite slow and pour on power, maybe not- whatever, it happens and it's not unusual. The 747 gets into a very high drag regime at high AoA so it is standard practice if you are low and slow to be very 'generous' with power. I was certainly aware of no such MAN incident on the fleet. It certainly doesn't come into the category of 'unusual attitudes' we are discussing here.
OK, I am not saying he was wandering around--far from it in fact and accept the ATC consent --obviously. However, my reference was for anecdotal reasons and, whilst I accept you had access to the Fleet information, I still contend this was a highly unusual event and certainly an "unusual attitude" for such an a/c given the location--as opposed to the former approach for example into Kai Tak. Simply because it didn't make the F/Safety report doesn't mean it didn't happen now does it. ? But I do know what we witnessed and it was
far from normal shall we say. If it's any consolation to you, I wasn't having a "dig" at BA / pilots or anybody else--simply recounting an event which, I,felt, fell into the category under discussion. It was memorable enough for me to remember the details after such a long time after all.