Originally Posted by
WingNut60
Looks like turn back occurred about 1:20 into flight; then 1:45'ish for return to Perth
Put yourself in the cockpit - of the aircraft, you're not in a car at ground level:
You're at good altitude in a functioning but "abnormal" aircraft. You have a whole collection of checks to do, and then you've got to set-up for landing. It takes quite a while to prepare an airliner for a landing - and more if unfamiliar with, say, Learmouth. The last thing you want is to rush and make silly mistakes.
You're about 20 mins from Learmouth, but it will take longer than that for normal (or for a drift-down) descent.
You can orbit near Learmouth, doing the checks and prep, slowly descending. Or you can do the checks and preparation while continuing on to a
more suitable airfield.
Captain's choice but you can see that Learmouth might not be the obvious choice. Same as the Rex that dropped a prop only a few minutes from their planned destination.
Somewhat pointless addition because PPrune readers
- There is no requirement anywhere to land at the nearest airfield. It's always up to the captain.
- The person telling everyone to pray was some (dropkick) passenger.