The above comments hold true for low visibility approaches. But flying around Europe last week when it was very windy it was definitely better disconnecting everything early on approach. There are several obvious reasons. As a starter, our autothrottle (737) copes poorly with very gusty conditions. It is also a good idea to get used to the conditions early when landing with a strong crosswind. The Virgin A340 incident at LHR written up recently in the crash comic would be a good example of how not to do it.
Last edited by lederhosen; 3rd Feb 2008 at 14:47.