The armchair critics have evidently never flown on Australia in summer. It was around 40 degrees and quite a gusty day, so the thermal updrafts off the different surfaces would have meant a roller-coaster ride on final. Also, the pilot had been airborne for over four hours and might well have been dehydrated and a tad disorientated after the scratchy ground roll. Hence the emergency personnel leading him away.
To put the conditions in Australia in perspective, during a 90-day check flight in an identical aircraft one hot morning the instructor looked at me as we were climbing at 500 feet per minute on final in approach config, nose down and idle RPM and said - "if we ever get back to earth, what say we call it a day and try again tomorrow?"
Last edited by VH-Cheer Up; 8th Jan 2013 at 08:23.
Reason: interposition of the indefinite article