TopBunk and Danny,
Originally Posted by TopBunk
What is the commital height, what does that actually mean? What is the landing configuration, when do you configure?
ACH (asymmetric committal height): the height, from which a safe go-around is assured (or as the regulation says, below which the pilot SHOULD not attempt another approach), taking into account the time needed to accelerate the engine, retract gear and reduce flaps, the airplane type, gross weight, elevation of the airport, temperature, winds, obstacle clearance and qualification of pilot.
In reviewing the manuals I found the notice, that on a two engine approach landing is committed upon lowering the gear (and then found comments along the same line in messages here - thanks!).
That raises an interesting question however: What do you do, if the landing target is not assured for one or the other reason, when you get down to say 300 feet AGL?
Originally Posted by Danny
Based on Austrian Simons logic, I should never fly because if I lose one engine then I might lose another.
Where did I say or imply that? My kernel argument is, that loosing an engine reduces safety margin and increases risk, which should be kept as short and as minimal as possible.
BTW, as you have mentioned that too: I did not say anywhere, that this crew did anything illegal. I have not mentioned the legal side at all in my postings so far. I argue from the point of risk management and safety margins and the paying customers' (those, who in the end pay the wages of pilots and all other employees of airlines) perceiption of safety issues.
The discussion so far has shown, that an approach on two engines leaves no safety margin whatsoever, if between lowering the gear and arriving on the runway a safe landing is prevented.
And that's exactly, what I said in all my postings today. A Go-Around is not an option in this scenario, neither performancewise because of the insufficient achievable climb gradient (as I said throughout the discussion) nor legally as I now learned from reviewing the manuals, so the go-around out of a two engine approach is not an option on any airport. That is actually worse than I believed earlier today.
My mistakes in this discussion, as it has unfolded, has been the language, which is not in line with regular pilot talk (of course! See below), the oversight of the legal ban of a go-around on the two engine approach, once the gear has been lowered, and too late a review of manuals.
So far the discussion could not change my view. If you will, despite being an European, I am with FAA on this one.
Now, I am software developer, developing mathematic models of air flow and aerodynamics of airplanes - as such I have flown a significant number of hours in full flight sims of various airplane types and have flown them all into their extremes to cross check predictions out of the modelling (so my "joyrides" were "workrides" in reality). Clearly, I do not know all the details of procedures, certainly not the legal side of them and certainly not by heart.
Originally Posted by Danny
I'd rather face that in a B744 than a twin, three hours from the nearest suitable airport.
Me, too, no doubt about that. I just need to mention the Atlantic Glider ...
Simon