As has been pointed out, Atlantic Star is not a certificate holding airline. The organization of one based in St. Helena would be a daunting task unless a current certificate holder like Atlantic Airways was involved. The lack of thrust reversers still concerns me. Atlantic Airways had a fatal BAe 146-200 overun off a 4600' runway in Norway in 2006 due to a failure of spoilers to deploy on a damp runway. I understand the "feathering" of the brakes on the St. Helena landing yesterday but I think I would routinely jam them on hard for a few seconds to ensure their function so a go-around could be accomplished if there was a problem. I have never flown a large aircraft without thrust reversers. I have experienced loss of braking in a DC-9-30 on a concrete runway that had just had a light rain after several dry months and the tire, fuel residue and moisture were a slippery deadly cocktail. We produced compressor stalls in reverse that were heard for miles getting it stopped. The tower asked us if there was something wrong and we reported the nil braking.
It was sunny and about a 7000' runway but wet. The Capt flying landed on speed at the touchdown zone and applied reverse thrust. At about 80 kt's he went to takeoff power in reverse. I said "too much" and he said "no brakes". Fortunately the P & W JT8D's weren't damaged by the "cannon fire".
Last edited by lolder; 28th Oct 2016 at 14:51.