BRISTOL - 4

[santito]

Ok thanks.

Real shame the mgmt can't find anywhere to stick an extra 400m of tarmac (and the money/ approval for it) as it would make the world of difference to the airport and probably see a new service or two pop up (Transat, EK...)

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Real shame they can't drop it down about 600ft, level the runway, make it twice as wide, three times as long, put a couple of motorways and a railway like right next to it and call it Filton!


WWW

[Stampe]

Seconded WWW then it could really call itself an airport.Together with LBA the most marginal of airports in the UK.Surprising there havn,t been many more incidents like this really.A tribute perhaps to the skills of the crews who operate regularly into BRS and of course lady luck if you just happen to draw the short straw and end up as operating crew into this challenging field on a demanding day.VBR Stampe

[birdscarer]

Stampe - it is extremely unprofessional to publically start questioning the safety standards of an aerodrome with no understanding of how the operation works. Poor show.

[WindSheer]

Don't knock the airline or the professionalism of the drivers! Top outfit!

On the other side of the coin, 09 at BRS is known throughout the trade as being a bit of a That combined with probable downdrafts yesterday make for a twitchy experience!!

[Pidge]

2.4g was registered according to an ex-colleague at Thomson.

[TSR2]

On the other side of the coin, 09 at BRS is known throughout the trade as being a bit of a That combined with probable downdrafts yesterday make for a twitchy experience!!

I am sure that will be a comforting thought for passengers.

[MerchantVenturer]

Stampe and WWW,

As experienced airline pilots your opinions are not to be discounted lightly.

You both seem to be questioning the safety at BRS - especially Stampe.

If you are right why do professional pilots continue to operate into the airport putting their own and passengers' lives at risk?

These sort of comments were made at the time of the runway closure several years ago by a number of posters on PPRuNe whose profiles indicated they were professional pilots, yet so far as I'm aware no pilot has refused to operate into the airport since the runway re-opened (I'm not talking about on a particular occasion because of weather or other reason on the day). Of course, some of you may know different.

Either the airport is too dangerous to operate into or it isn't. If it is pilots should vote with their feet and not just their mouths.

If it isn't the comments are unhelpful at best and frightening to many passengers at worst.

As a SLF who has regularly used BRS for over thirty years and who knows his place in the world of aviation professionals, can I ask if there has been an enquiry held in record time that has blamed the airport for this incident?

I ask because pilots are forever, rightly I am sure, castigating people on PPRuNe for coming to their own conclusions about an incident before an enquiry has been held and the report pubished.

[flyerboy]

This is not the first time this airframe has experienced this problem. As S7RGV of Vietnam Airlines on 19/09/2000 it had similar damage after another hard landing.

[Standard Noise]

Rumour has it, that the nice peeps at AAIB are coming to have a gander at it and will be looking at everything to do with the previous repair. Boeing may or may not be looking at coming over and a repair in situ could be in the offing. But as I say, it's only a rumour.

[Ranger 1]

27+ years in the job it never ceases to amaze me how all the experts wannabe accident investigators come out of the woodwork here on PPRUNE.

Two things that will be looked at is What exactly happened and Why it happened, which is best left to the experts.
I am aware it is a rumour network however any conclusions drawn by individuals should be treated with caution, I echo Birdscarers comments and would add Airline, manufacturer, to that as well

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Calm down ladies. There isn't a pilot alive who is familiar with 09 in high winds that would disagree that it merits respect. Nobody called anything dangerous.

The previous repair rumour is very interesting.


WWW

[firstchoice7e7]

Its quite a coincedence that the same bird suffers the same fate twice :

ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 767-324ER S7-RGV Ho Chi Minh City Airport (SGN)

[WindSheer]

Accident: Thomson B763 at Bristol on Oct 3rd 2010, hard landing

Aviation Herald have picked up on it.

[Harry the Hound]

As has been said above, Thomson pilots are no mugs, some of the best and most experianced in europe in most peoples eyes, lets not get carried away with the if's and but's. There seems to of been many incidents similar in the past where the aircraft has been repaired and continued in service, and these were on much longer runways than 09, the only chaps that know what really was going on were sat up front, and in my eyes looking at the WX did a good job to get that bird down, I have always flown with FC/TUI for my hols both longhaul and short haul and use BRS regulally and will continue to do so.

[TSR2]

and in my eyes looking at the WX did a good job to get that bird down

I don't think Thomson Airways will agree with you on that. Perhaps they should have diverted but we can all be wiser after the event.

[Standard Noise]

Perhaps they should have diverted but we can all be wiser after the event.

If the Pilot in command made a decision to land it would have been because the wx was within his/the aircraft's/company limits. As for your statement that 'we can all be wiser after the event', mmm, it would seem so on here.

[CSman]

As an old timer,who flew DC3/Viscounts and BAC111 into Bristol ,it always was a B/awful airport and although since my time, they now have radio aids and a posh terminal building,it has not changed my opinion.In my day 09 was either eyeball/radar or if you dared QDM approach.For the DC3 there was always the option of the grass R/W[that ran from the end of the old terminal apron toward what is now the flying club area something like 20-21.If you look in the grass you might even find a rut where I once planted the Dak on a dark and windy night

[macdo]

Regarding Merchant Venturer's post. Pilots have laws, SOP's and minima that dictate if we can operate at a given airfield. Overlaid on top of this, is the commander's decision on a given day. (IE SELF PRESERVATION)
Some airfields, by their environment, are more challenging to work than others. BRS is a case in point. Nice day,27, wind down the runway, no problem. Crappy day, 09, wet, big xwind, heavy large a/c, not so comfy. But still legal in all senses. QED the crew would have had to make an approach to land.
Safety is not black and white. If it were, half the holiday destinations in the Eastern Med, Santa Flights and a certain Portugese holiday island would disappear from the brochures tomorrow.
Since airline flying is described as "hours of tedium, punctuated by moments of terror", I would gently suggest that PPrune is not the place for you.

[Stampe]

Excellent post macdo airline flying is statically very safe nowadays but people need to realise some airports are much safer than others by many orders of magnitude.Looking at my log books I see I have operated large airliners to/from BRS on average twice a year for the past 12 years.Local crews get to know the peculiarities of a challenging airfield by frequent exposure ,visiting pilots much less so.Very few airfields in my 30 year civil flying career have caused me as much concern as BRS in poor weather.