Thank you, Ptkay, for coming back to us with the investigation data.

Sincerely yours,
FD (the un-real)

The photographs are incredible. As I said earlier in the thread it is totally inconcievable that the crew were unaware they had exited the runway. The dent in the rim of one of the wheels would definately have been felt.

To put the next crew and passengers in such danger is unforgivable - they should face criminal charges in my opinion. I'm all for no-blame culture - it's supposed to encourage people to speak up so we can all learn. This was wilful negligence.

A4

I put my opinion in similar words from the very beginning,
and have been attacked by many for overreacting...

The final report is clear.

There's nothing new in the report, however it explains "half walkround" bit. F/O checked only left side lading gear, flaps and engine. This was obvious if they had left gear on grass. Ironicaly, these parts were undamaged.

The most valuable part IMO is pilot's testimony:
“100ft. above minima, I saw the approach and THR green lights and called “Landing”. At 100ft. agl, I disconnected the A/P and suddenly in front of me I saw only darkness. On my left I then saw the RWY edge white lights, apparently thinking that those were CL lights. The F/O called “fly right”, and I started doing that, but it was too late. The aircraft touched down. I thought it was a firm to hard landing. After touchdown I knew I landed to the left of the CL but I didn’t know how far left. We were both shocked”.

I think new and shocking are the images of the damage to the tires and rim.

They were really extremely lucky to be able to continue without
further incident, or even accident.
I know the tire burst wouldn't be that catastrophic, like on the Concorde,
but nevertheless...

Approach Ban (uk)
 

Sorry to be late catching up on this one but I wanted to clarify the situation regarding the earlier commented on "Approach Ban" procedure in the UK.For ATC purposes it is known as the Absolute Minima Procedure.

Each airfield has a theoretical calculated RVR minima for an instrument approach other than CAT2/3 ILS.This is to be issued when conditions are below this minima and its main purpose is to act as a final reminder to a crew who may have made an error in calculating their minima.

In the event of the crew continuing no clearances for continuation of the approach or for landing are given however neither are they banned by ATC.We have a number of set messages which state that UK legislation will be contravened by a continued approach but we are not empowered to instruct a crew to discontinue the approach or landing.

I wonder if landings below minimums should be included in mandatory incident reporting. Now pilots just decide to land, in 99% with success and without any "punishment". Perhaps mandatory reports by ATC will relief the commercial pressure which contributes for these landings.

This of course requires mature safety culture first...