Ladies and Gents - This is the Captain - Sorry about that landing..
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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Ladies and Gents - This is the Captain - Sorry about that landing..
Met a passenger (experienced in aviation) at the airport from a 737 flight between A and B in Australia. Although weather calm the final approach was marred by heavy over controlling by the PF and a high sink rate on very short final culminated in an extremely hard touch down which caused a few pax to squeal in alarm. Nothing new and probably someone on line training?
The question arises:
Would it be considered good manners or even sensible public relations, for the captain to make a brief apology over the PA for the heavy landing? Or is it best ignored and hope people won't remember?
Although as pilots we know that heavy landings are part and parcel of new pilots experience during line training, it is a fact rightly or wrongly that many passengers judge an airline by the quality of the landings. Smooth touch down makes passengers happy while a bastard of a landing upsets the nervous nellies who will choose the other airline for the next trip. It may not be fair to judge an airline by it's landings but some people do. A short apology by the captain regardless who did the landing, may sooth a few heartbeats and leave a nice impression.
Any thoughts?
The question arises:
Would it be considered good manners or even sensible public relations, for the captain to make a brief apology over the PA for the heavy landing? Or is it best ignored and hope people won't remember?
Although as pilots we know that heavy landings are part and parcel of new pilots experience during line training, it is a fact rightly or wrongly that many passengers judge an airline by the quality of the landings. Smooth touch down makes passengers happy while a bastard of a landing upsets the nervous nellies who will choose the other airline for the next trip. It may not be fair to judge an airline by it's landings but some people do. A short apology by the captain regardless who did the landing, may sooth a few heartbeats and leave a nice impression.
Any thoughts?
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I'm guessing Walter is commenting on the fact that a firm landing is in no way a judge of a bad landing, and in fact, a long landing with a smooth touchdown should be the one that the pilots consider unacceptable, with the reduced safety margins.
Pilot under line training?
Maybe not a pilot under line training............maybe a management Captain on his once-a-month flight. Hence the lack of apology or explanation!
I have always beleived in firm landings, that way you know positively that you have arrived and time to apply brakes.
The landings that put a hump on the upper surface of the wing certainly demand an apology to the passengers not to mention the boss. I was never embarassed in my early charter days to give an explanation why my landing was not a greaser. You gain more confidence in you from your passengers by admiting your stuff up and teaches you a lesson too.
Mind you when i made a greaser i was not shy to demand a clap either!
The landings that put a hump on the upper surface of the wing certainly demand an apology to the passengers not to mention the boss. I was never embarassed in my early charter days to give an explanation why my landing was not a greaser. You gain more confidence in you from your passengers by admiting your stuff up and teaches you a lesson too.
Mind you when i made a greaser i was not shy to demand a clap either!
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Was walking up the airbridge with the cabin crew after a famil flight in the jump seat many moons ago. We had landed with particular emphasis, and one of them said, "Do you think we could get group discount at the Chiropractor after that f&^%ing crash??!!"
Don't recall the flight crew saying anything about it on the intercom but.
Don't recall the flight crew saying anything about it on the intercom but.
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Did a trip recently where the Captain didnt quite manage to grease it on... weather fairly nice with no real wind, albiet onto a 30m runway in a 73... To his credit, he did a brief pax PA once clear explaining that he had no real excuse for that one, and just apologised. Cabin supervisor told us after pax had left it went down very very well, and he had made quite a few friends out of it. Done properly, it is possible to make the best out of it.
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From a business point of view the captain should SAY NOTHING! that does not have a direct bearing on the safety of the flight. Anything else needs to be written by the company lawyers and PR people.
We have got to this stage as a direct result of the MEDIA. You cant give em anything to play with. The captain could apologize for a bad landing. Sounds fair Then a passenger exaggerates a little to his mate that pick him up from the airport. It then becomes a real hard landing with people screaming and cabin crew looking worried. That friend then talks to his mate at the local paper. Who writes a little article about the dangers skid followed by screaming passangers as the pilot skidded the out of control aircraft to a stop. This article gets to the wire services and then we see the morning city news papers chronicling A "Death Plunge" followed by an over run in flight emergency. with screaming passengers and compo being paid.
Remember
SAY NOTHING!
We have got to this stage as a direct result of the MEDIA. You cant give em anything to play with. The captain could apologize for a bad landing. Sounds fair Then a passenger exaggerates a little to his mate that pick him up from the airport. It then becomes a real hard landing with people screaming and cabin crew looking worried. That friend then talks to his mate at the local paper. Who writes a little article about the dangers skid followed by screaming passangers as the pilot skidded the out of control aircraft to a stop. This article gets to the wire services and then we see the morning city news papers chronicling A "Death Plunge" followed by an over run in flight emergency. with screaming passengers and compo being paid.
Remember
SAY NOTHING!
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The problem is that YOUR version of a hard landing definition will vary somewhat to that of the pilots, so it may have not been that hard as such.
I was once on a 767 that landed so hard that a dozen oxgyen masks fell from the roof and half a dozen overhead lockers opened with no comment from the pilot. Was it really that bad?
I was once on a 767 that landed so hard that a dozen oxgyen masks fell from the roof and half a dozen overhead lockers opened with no comment from the pilot. Was it really that bad?
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Just out of curiosity what's an auto land like? Seeing as most of us have never done one shall never do one & will probably never experience one can those that do such a ldg OS for Eg. plz explain?
I know a few have been done here in OZ in anger due to no other option but OS it's common right?
Oh & as for hard ldgs?................well as long as the T/Off's equal the ldgs what's the problem? but this sums it up perfectly!!..........I apologise for all my landings in advance.
Saves time.
CW
I know a few have been done here in OZ in anger due to no other option but OS it's common right?Oh & as for hard ldgs?................well as long as the T/Off's equal the ldgs what's the problem? but this sums it up perfectly!!..........I apologise for all my landings in advance.
Saves time.
CW
An experienced pilot I had the pleasure of flying with in the USA said he rates all landings out of 10. Four points for touchdown location, four points for speed, and two points for finesse. So a real clunker right on the markers at just the right speed still gives you 8/10.