Poor airmanship

[Right Way Up]

I do not want to name airlines or specific dates, but during the last week I was shocked to see the antics of a crew from a national flag carrier. At VLC there is work in progress close to the undershoot of rwy 12 and this crew flew a completely stable approach to put the aircraft down in the first 100m of the runway. I would estimate their wheel height over the threshold to be in the region of 5-10 ft max. Apart from being shocking airmanship, is the pilot such a god that he knows to the nearest foot where his mainwheels are. It was completely irresponsible towards the men working nearby. I have also noticed another major flag carrier do this at Toulouse. Flying airliners to me is about flying with sufficient margins that when the unexpected happens you can safely avoid an incident/accident. In this case there was no margin. It certainly has made me think twice about flying with these two companies.

[wobble2plank]

So? Were they on the glideslope? 2 whites 2 reds? Did they have close in traffic behind and needed minimum runway occupancy. Was it a stable approach? Sink before the threshold, has been seen before at VLC. You don't say what sort of aircraft it was so was it heavy? Needed the full length? Problem with the brakes? No brake fans and a short turn around? reverse thrust not available? etc... etc... etc..

Don't throw mud without knowing the whole story. There could well have been a very good reason to 'put it down short' . You and I will, probably, never know the reason so let it ride.

[Right Way Up]

If I was going to sling mud I would have named the carriers, dates and times. Having over 3000hrs on the type involved I can assure you there was no reason for this manoeuvre other than bravado. The approach was stable from 300 ft to the ground - no last minute sink involved. As for close in traffic, heavy weight issues, that does not make any difference when operating jets responsibly.

[PPRuNe Radar]

Can you point us to the NOTAM that points out the hazard please. Then we can hang the cowboys

[MrBernoulli]

Right Way Up,

Just curious - were you in the aircraft in question, or were you watching from some external position?

[Right Way Up]

MrB,
I was operating an aircraft holding just short of runway 12.

[Tech Guru]

Bet it can't beat the infamous Iberia 320 on visual to the old 20 at BCN where a van had to brake to avoid it!! There's a cool photo on airliners.net

[Doors to Automatic]

Right way up - I think I know the pilot of this aircraft. If it is the same guy I know, he has always had a little trouble with heights at the threshold.

Here he is on his first solo:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0570962/M/

And on his first commercial flight:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0312682/M/

And his first flight as a captain:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1078774/M/

[Right Way Up]

D to A,
I think you've cracked it....must be him!

[mr ripley]

NOTAM

NOTAM for LEVC/VLC

LEVC (VALENCIA):

...
AGA : Q)LECB/QFAXX/IV/NBO/A/000/999/3929N00029W005
FROM 06/09/06 10:26 TO 06/11/05 23:59 EST A5592/06
E) WIP LOCATED AT LEFT SIDE RWY30 IN APCH DIRECTION BTN 300M AND 700M
FM THR RWY30 AND BTN 100M AND 150M FM RCL RWY30.
PRESENCE PERSONNEL AND MACHINERY 5M HGT APRX
PESONNEL IN CONTACT WITH TWR
...


AGA : Q)LECB/QFAHW/IV/NBO/A/000/999/3929N00029W005
FROM 06/08/09 06:00 TO 06/11/10 18:00 EST A4961/06
E)WIP, CRANE ERECTED 26M HEIGHT, ON RIGHT SIDE RWY30 IN APP DIRECTION
AT 162M FM RCL RWY12/30 AND BTN 1100M AND 1250M FM THR30.
PRESENCE OF PERSONNEL AND MACHINERY ON CONTACT WITH TWR
...

END.

[Hawk]

Doors to Automatic ..you are right on the line with your post. You need to think very carefully before adding anything further and also, go back and review the rules for posting on this site.