PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - When can you say you know enough to be safe in the cockpit?
Old 12th Jul 2011, 10:30
  #34 (permalink)  
bubbers44
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
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Went to San Jose, Costa Rica in a B757 and landed up in the mountains with a 15 knot tailwind with about 8,000 ft of runway. This was legal because our SOP for this airport allowed it because of the difficulty in circling with normal low ceilings.

We come back to Miami at sea level with 13,000 ft of runway and are cleared for a close in right base entry to short final landing east with a storm approaching from the west prohibiting us from doing the ILS and will soon close the airport. On final they report a 15 knot tailwind, our limit is 10 so we land anyway and turn off at midfield. The option was to divert to Orlando for a few hrs. Not life threatening but shows how SOP's are for the company's benefit, not common sense. They also protect pilots that can't protect themselves.
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