A320 Crosswind techniques - by an old fart.
Quote from rubik101 [Today, 11:59]:
All this talk of direct law and squeezing crab off at the appropriate time amount to nothing more than a lot of hot air. As has been mentioned, it's an aircraft, fly the airplane and land it as well as you can in the circumstances.
Extreme weather, which it undoubtedly was, make for extreme situations and I, along with a few other enlightened souls on this thread, salute the pilot for his quick reactions and obvious skill in retrieving a critical situation.
[Unquote]
Hear, hear !
Have resisted the temptation to contribute to this thread so far. That said, I see a lot of constructive and sensible comment on previous postings, as well as the usual uninformed anti-Airbus hysteria. Not to mention the venom from those, mainly armchair, pilots who claim that they have never been caught-out by extreme weather – and never will... 
My first impressions of the video are that the A/C was caught by at least 2 massive gusts, well beyond the capabilities of any current airliner to accommodate. Hamburg airfield is very exposed and, surrounded by trees, is subject to low-level windshear – and particularly on Rwy 23. Experience suggests that the wind would have been gusting – from the Rwy 15 threshold end – towards the first half of Rwy 23.
For what it's worth, I do have clear views on A320 crosswind techniques. And they are based more on the fact that it is a very conventional aeroplane aerodynamically, than on the intricacies of the FBW control laws. These opinions are based on 14 years' line-flying on type (1988 - 2001). My manuals remain un-amended since my retirement, so there may have been some minor changes to FBW control logic in the meantime.
To avoid duplication, you can see my opinion via the link below, specifically on Post#56. If you go there, there is also a link to the Iberia A320 Bilbao photos on Post#63, and my comments on Post#73.
Yes, the A320 programs zero roll-rate when the stick is central, but – if displaced by a gust – the pilot has to use the stick to roll the wings level again. Any logic that tries to compensate for yaw-induced roll, during de-crab, will not cater for any accompanying gust. Read on...
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...=308926&page=3
PS: Wader2, Remember, this event is defined as an "incident", not an "accident"!