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Old 27th Oct 2007, 19:12
  #25 (permalink)  
First_Principal
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: not where I want to be
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I'd been thinking about this and wondered why you wouldn't notice a significantly increased groundspeed to normal on finals (with a 20kn tailwind) but if Plucka is correct and it was an [intentional] flapless landing then I suppose their situational awareness may have got out of kilter.

I'm always hesitant to criticise since I'm sure as hell not perfect myself. I can recall three recent tailwind landings I've done - once to conform to a local operators circuit pattern and twice when the wind changed on the downwind and I didn't notice the windsock swing on finals. Whilst I'm talking just two or three knots here (I'd like to think I'd notice twenty!) it's something that can easily happen. After these landings I'd told myself to make a final check of a windsock but I don't always remember 'cos I'm concentrating on what's going on ahead of me and if it's a field where the 'socks are not within my normal field of vision on final then I'm not visually prompted to do so. I don't recall ever being taught to make such a check so it's not ingrained within my flying psyche but if something is to be taken from this then perhaps it would be a good training safety check to make and one that might have caused these guys somewhat less distress.

Perhaps this incident also indicates a need for more emphasis on go-around training, judging just when to know you're not going to make it and exactly what to do. I can well recall my EFATO training & other such things but once again I don't remember a great deal of emphasis on the go-around and there certainly is a bit of get-down-itis once you're established on finals so to break that mode of thinking takes some discipline.

All this is said, I might add, to prompt some debate on things that are worth thinking about - with respect to the particular incident it's possible we might find they had engine failure at an awkward stage and didn't have much choice in the matter, this might explain not powering up to go-round... if that's the case then it wasn't a complete botch-up, after all they survived quite well, but then again someone might have a bit more info?

Finally I was very saddened to hear of the BOP accident. It only serves to remind us of the frailty of our craft and ourselves. Whether or not there is ultimately something to be learned from it will always be overshadowed by the loss of a young compatriot.
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