I think your call was one of the best I've ever seen in this big game we play, mate, and I've certainly learned from it. Kudos! You worked outside the book: those who want to nail people by it, or those who think they should only ever fly it, should watch and learn.
Those who wish to make their point by splitting the hairs right down to the flare should also watch and learn....... even in the airlines you seek to smear it is a question of interpretation.: some of us will not commit to print what we might actually do in real life. However, some of us then have no fear to pick the phone up and call our fleet office and explain what happened.. as was the case in the example misquoted earlier. It was a friend of mine in command, they watched the mapshift happen at 500 radio, discussed what might happen with regard to GPWS warnings, and when the warning occured, landed off it. Then, the skipper called the fleet office, talked it through, and everyone lived happily ever after.
If you must pursue an anti-BA agenda, then please get your facts straight first.
£6
As to the rest..
It is not BA policy to have both hands on the column at 50' radio... only in the flare. Even then, it is merely a "recommendation" due to the SOP on thrust lever handling and not something hard and fast.. to this day, I do not do it.
All the SOP's discussed above are still subject to the FCO that states unequiovacolay that the Captain has the power to over-ride any SOP in the event that he considers the circumstances require it...
Airmanship hasn't gone away... it's merely changed beyond the closed definition given above that only ONE person has the required knowledge and awareness to complete the flight safely, to take in the fact that someone else may be right when you are wrong.
Sometimes it takes a big person to admit that fact.....
Last edited by Sick Squid; 25th Jun 2002 at 04:53.