What the hell was going on in the cockpit of a 254 seat jet flying the premier domestic route in Australia to cause it to end up sinking toward the tarmac, wheels up and engines screaming, seconds from what could have been an extremely ugly crash?
Can someone take Mr. Sandilands up for a jumpseat ride and show him exactly "what the hell is going on".
Whilst I enjoy a lot of his articles which question airline management, service standards and other issues, I'd love to know what his flying background is, if any. His Plane Talking website doesn't give too much away.
The communications breakdown could have been anything, ATC, crew mis-hearing "gear" for "flap" (it has happened) or any number of things. They went round, the warning sounded, aircraft landed safely.
The system worked...didn't it?