I have had the pleasure of training many of CX's Captains.
There is not one Captain that I have had experience with in CX that couldn't have conducted this flyby without the most reasonable margins of safety. If he wasn't able to accomplish that, you can rest most assuredly that he would not be in a Command position in CX.
The actual manoeuvre of flying down a runway straight and level at 10, 20, 30 or 50 feet doesn't take some sort of aerobatic guru. But it does take an experienced Captain to safely assess, determine safety margins and execute such a manoeuvre with the foresight and skill required.
If any of the many twerps commenting on this thread had any idea of the exceptional skills required to operate an airliner with 400 pax safely in typhoon conditions and in other extremely difficult situations confronting CX pilots on a daily basis, they would bow their heads and walk away with their tails between their legs. A freakin' flyby is a complete doddle in comparison.
Don't go thinking that I have some bias towards this particular Captain. The more experienced ppruners will know from my many previous posts that I am most assuredly not a CX management sycophant.
Not approved? Get real! Capt IW was the Chief Pilot of the 777 Fleet! You want a higher level of approval? Try the Director of Flight Operations? What would be the point?
The Director of Flight Operations was trained as a Zoologist and has absolutely zero background in the actual flying part of Flight Operations...So I guess he gets to pick up the salary and someone else picks up the responsibility? But, all with HK CAD Approval of the person holding the position of DFO of course...
Last edited by FlexibleResponse; 25th Feb 2008 at 12:50.