Originally Posted by BuzzBox
The Flight Aware data seems to suggest it still had a ground speed of around 230 knots. That's not an impossible situation to be in, but nevertheless it presents a challenge
Yeah, that's about what I see on Flight Aware also. Now I don't fly the 777, but a little googling leads me to believe that 230 knots is slow enough to extend the first two increments of flaps and extend the landing gear.
So, you're saying that being lined up on final 14 mile out,
on a 3 degree glide,
and slow enough to a) throw out the gear, and b) start throwing out flaps, is a "challenge"?
Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not seeing the challenge. If you're not high, and you're slow enough to start configuring, and you've got 14 NM to go, it seems like easy money to me.