Planes wobble as they land at Manchester Airport
 

This is what news has come to:BBC News - UK storm: Planes wobble as they land at Manchester Airport

It's what pilots call a crosswind; get used to it.

The news media really are getting weather totally out of proportion these days.

We've just experienced a perfectly normal autumn storm (what we used to call a deep area of low pressure until the weather forecasts were dumbed down to the level of junior school) and you'd think from the forecasts and coverage that we'd just been through something akin to October 1987!!

Add to that the ease at which reasonably high quality video can be shot, sent to the media such as BBC and put on air to fill 24 hour news channels and you get these sort of nonsense non-stories.

Silly really, but we're stuck with it!!

Yesterday, at LEPA we were warned by the Captain before take off of the wx effects of "Gonzalo" at EGKK & during the flight.
We experienced 3 mins. of moderate turbulence south of Paris (descended 2000 ft. to avoid), arrived on schedule & little discomfort on the approach & landing. This, despite "145 kt. headwinds" & 50 kt.gusts at 'KK.
Not blaming the Captain (he only goes on what he's told", but everyone seems to go way over the top these days.

The more I see of the news, mainstream or not, televised, print, internet, or whatever, the less I believe any of it.

I think that what's happening is that there is such pressure to get a story published that gets people's attention (sells), that reporters are making just making stuff up.

There are numerous examples in just the last few days, but I'm sure many other people are coming to the same conclusion.

I smirked when both Sky and BBC News said 'Heathrow have cancelled 10% of their flights'. Wonder if they told the airlines?

It's testament to the pulling power of LHR that the airlines don't tell the airport that unless they begin to understand who their customers are, they'll walk - to other airports such as BHX / STN / LTN or LGW.

The fact that Heathrow Airport Ltd. can get away with it allows them to take such a cavalier attitude.

kcockayne: there absolutely were 145kts over northern France and most of the UK. Turb particularly bad FL260 North of Paris, and winds a lot higher than forecast on touch down. Departure also delayed due to wx restrictions at departure airport.

There was a large unsettled area over northern france and southern UK with a Jetstream which did have the potential to get bumpy.

It's much better to warn pax so it doesn't come as a complete surprise and stops them crying to the Daily Mail with their 'we though we were all going to die (yet still had time to take a selfie)' stories. It's just courtesy. Winds were forecast to be very strong yesterday.

I'm not criticising the pilots or airline in any way; & take your point about alerting pax. My sole point is that things were nowhere near as bad as we had been told.
During my professional, & general, lifetime this "sensational" approach has been steadily increasing- especially from the media - do we really have to adapt our ways to address this ? - I feel, regrettably (even accepting your point).
It just appears to me that everything is overdone nowadays.
Stiff upper lip, & all that !

God, I hated it when I wobbled. :ooh:

I bet you didn't when the female F/As came into the FD ;)

_________________________________________________

My car, and many others, wobbled in heavy crosswinds on the motorway the other day. Never made the news and no video clips of our wobbling.