Descent into Stanstead.

[TightSlot]

Atishoo - ref thin ice...

Pilots tend, understandably in my view, to be a little sensitive about criticism of their landings by non-flying others. One of the first pieces of advice I pass on to new-hire Cabin Crew is never to pass comment after the event: On the wrong day, or at the wrong time, the results can be a little frosty to say the least.

Here are a few points that may help you:

• A good approach doesn't always result in a soft touchdown, neither does a poor approach gaurantee a hard one. Sometimes, the last 10 feet just melt away and it gets planted - that's the nature of the beast.
• Perception of the 'hardness' of a touchdown can vary by aircraft type and by where you are sitting on that aircraft.
• Some aircraft (often with bigger wings) can be more prone to 'soft' touchdowns. Some aircraft (e.g. 767) may have landing gear configurations that don't help greasers.
• Under certain circumstances (e.g. runway length, obstructions, overrun obstacles, surface condition) a 'hard' touchdown is the best way to put the aircraft down. Aircraft are very strong and can cope with some serious abuse.
• Busy airfields with a line of traffic waiting to land may request a turn-off the runway as soon as possible, resulting in braking that may appear harder than necessary.
• Experience improves everything, but no pilot is allowed to land an aircraft without having proved exhaustively in the sim that He/She can do so already: Both customers and airframes are expensive things to break, so airlines try hard not to do so.