Learner. There is an ILS at Sumburgh but it is on R/W 27 The L2 crew flew an approach to R/W 09. I do not know why but it could be any of the following:
1. 27 was not available
2. or the ILS unserviceable.
3. Crew decided to approach to 09 due to wind direction
Current culture would imply that if the ILS 27 was flown it would likely to have been fully coupled. This is a complex supposition based on observed behaviours.
The presence of both Glideslope and Localiser seems to attract a fully coupled response in most crews.
To put this into some context, in 18 years I have spent flying IFR offshore I have actually never done a Localiser approach for real. It is an unusual occurrence.
In poor WX, such as Sumburgh that day, I personally would have ignored the wind direction as reported and opted for ILS 27, assuming of course that it was serviceable and available. The crew may not have had this option.
DB
Last edited by DOUBLE BOGEY; 15th Sep 2013 at 14:37.