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Low on fuel, Jet pilot made blind landing on 7th attempt
A Jet Airways aircraft made a “blind“ landing in Kerala in August last year in an unprecedented seventh attempt after running dangerously low on fuel due to six previous failed landing attempts on account of bad weather in two cities. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had conduced an inquiry into this case of August 17, 2015, and the report has brought out some chilling facts. The Boeing 737 on its way from Doha to Kochi had six failed landing attempts -a first ever in aviation… (epaperbeta.timesofindia.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
This captain was very good but the question is; what led him to have to use his superior skills? I am totally unfamiliar with the airports involved but the weather didn't look W0X0F. Landing with 600# of fuel shows that there was no time for another full approach and the captain, familiar with terrain and obstructions, probably executed a timed 90/270 return to final for the landing. With the emergency declared, any available rescue equipment was ready at the airport. You take the approach to the ground under control. If you crash, at least the equipment is there and ready. That would be much better than executing another missed and going off to crash somewhere in the hills.
very good point Bill, no one had taken the chain of action that far, which gives standing to the captains experience and expertise which would further the point that he did not put his airplane or himself into this situation but was more than likely done by other parameters.
That was part of my comment as well. First Officer Janet and I used to do Hood Approaches to BTR on perfect weather days. Just to see how it would turn out. And think about what they said. He did the last one so low that alarms were going off the whole time. my guess is he was using his MINDS EYE to visualize that pattern.
Not to hijack the thread, but I hail from an hour west of Baton Rouge and have had a few flights in and out of there over the years. (I usually use LFT; closer to home and easier.) Only one flight to BTR had what I'd call a terrifying final approach: practically dive bombing for the last 15 minutes to the point that loose items slid down the aisle and I was straining at my seat belt. That was a Delta flight in from Atlanta. No explanation was given. Weather was fine. What's so bad about BTR?
Obviously, this is a tremendous pilot but a lousy planner. A temporary demotion is correct. He failed to have a proper alternate airport within his fuel range. If you don't have one at take off, you don't take off. The alternate has to have a guaranteed near visual conditions. The required minimum weather for an alternate used to be 2000 ft ceiling, 2 mile visibility for two hours after ETA.I don't know what the requirements are today but the principle should be the same. On a miss and going to an alternate, a pilot can switch to another alternate that maybe closer if the weather is instrument doable.
In addition, most commercial operators, at least in the US, are prohibited from even attempting the approach if the reported weather is below minimums ... how do you do three missed attempts at the same airport and then another three misses at another airport without violating at least that basic safety rule? How do you do more than one approach if the first one was done correctly to minimums, the weather hasn't changed, and you still had to go missed? How many fatal accident reports have exactly that sequence of events in them?
There isn't a lot of detailed information here, but what information is available doesn't look good. I'm glad they all lived and that the plane itself is in a reusable condition, but that doesn't negate:
- planning suitable alternates
- updating information while en-route
- re-planning if necessary
- using good judgement to determine when to try again
This looks like a failure on many counts. They were extraordinarily lucky.
There isn't a lot of detailed information here, but what information is available doesn't look good. I'm glad they all lived and that the plane itself is in a reusable condition, but that doesn't negate:
- planning suitable alternates
- updating information while en-route
- re-planning if necessary
- using good judgement to determine when to try again
This looks like a failure on many counts. They were extraordinarily lucky.
Tremendous pilot ?? Really ? How so ? He was practicing his go arounds ?