Miguel Correia says:

The dilemna of the commercial pilot. Take a risk to make things faster and spare some fuel. If it works, you’re the hero. If it doesn’t, it was your fault for not complying with the rules.

#16 I can only imagine what was going through the pilot’s mind… It should have been something like “f…..!!!”. lol. No matter how instinctive it might have been, his call was a goog one. Even if there was the danger of the plane not being airworthy, facing that risk was better than almost certain fatality of not having done it. The problem is, they had lost control, and only one thing restores control in aeroplanes: Airspeed. Going around was a necessity.

One test pilot used to say his decision to eject happened when he ran out of airspeed, altitude (which is translatable to airspeed) and ideas (of how to get airspeed), all at the same time. lol

bobbo says:

#32–jessabel==most cockpit recordings after a crash are pretty slim pickings==going thru a checklist, reciting some guage readings, something like “whats that noise?” and then “Oh Fuck.”

In this case, I’d bet money it was limited to “Oh Fuck Me” “Going Around.” or close to it.

pjakobs says:

# 30 bobbo, why do I congratulate them?
There are so many facts that lead to a situation like this and while the pilot has the last call, does he really?

I’ve seen many cases where a decision that was bad in hindsight has created trouble. But only with hindsight, we know that the decision was bad in the first place.
I don’t know how many flights landed uneventful before this one on the same runway. They’ve caught a freak gust.

It’s true, going by the TAF, they should have known they might (or they actually are) out of limits, but still, it was the active runway that all traffic was going to that night.

I think that what makes a person stand out is not him or her never making a false decision, but it’s dealing with the results successfully. And that they did, barely, but successfully.

pj

BubbaRay says:

I know, too late to post again. Given the amount of time and training the PIC has, he was both skillful and lucky, considering he let the wind get under his right wing. That was a mistake. (I doubt the co-pilot was in control).

Driving that big iron with that much mass (and inertia) with engines that take a bit to spool up is tough at touchdown. You’re already behind the curve when wheels hit. From what I can tell, he was lucky in that he had a significant airspeed margin to play with (judging from the video it looks like he bounced it).

Had he been at an airport with a single short runway, he would have no choices but the alternate or a slip. Plant that right main 1st!

#36, Bobbo, would you trust an old ATIS with (I’m assuming) other pilots groaning about the x-wind?