Originally Posted by
Captain Nomad
Doesn't mean the goose in the 172 was 'legal' to land though, it just means that if he had plowed into the Dash and killed everyone, the Dash pilots would have copped the blame in the subsequent investigation
I wouldn't be so sure they would cop ALL the blame... Especially as we know that the landing aircraft was aware of the aircraft on the runway before he landed. I would like to see the non-existent regulation that gives a landing aircraft not in distress 'right of way' and priority over an aircraft already 'on' a runway...
!
Well, the only reason we know the pilot saw the Dash 8 was because he lived to tell the tale...
and that the ATSB consider 'landing on a closed or occupied runway' as an Immediately Reportable Matter, i.e a ' accident or serious incident'.
So, as mentioned, if the 'pilot' of the 172 did in fact see the Dash, and then considered it 'safe' to continue with a landing despite what (in surely any reasonable terms) basic airmanship and the ATSB would suggest is a situation that is plainly NOT safe, then either
a. he had an engine failure on final, or
b. he is an idiot who doesn't deserve a licence
:-)
edit: doesn't change my opinion by the way, unless the pilot called over the radio 'aircraft on the runway I'm going to land' or something before he became a charred stump, the ATSB would surely find that no idiot would be stupid enough to intentionally land on an occupied runway and therefore the Dash pilots would surely wear it for the regulatory reasons mentioned above.