PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Caribbean B738 at Georgetown on Jul 30, 2011, overran runway
Old 11th Aug 2011, 17:18
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PEI_3721
 
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The industry should be much more concerned about overrun accidents than they appear to be. There have been enough ‘non-fatal’ close calls to statistically warrant the real big-one.

Its good news that some parts of industry are taking this seriously, but is even more SOPs really the answer. Cross checking landing performance before each landing surely is a must before every landing – airmanship / professionalism. These checks are not just the cursory review of what the dispatch computer printout forecast, the task has to be an active assessment / reassessment of the actual conditions at the time of landing. Most operating regulations require this – “the Captain has to ensure that the conditions are sufficient for a safe landing”.
Checking the landing distance margin available (percentage of max allowed landing wt) provides a guide to the level of braking required. It can be a baseline on which to judge any tolerance to an error in runway conditions reporting – ‘runway is wet’, but the aircraft could still land if it were flooded (recent storm / poor drainage / slippery surface).
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