Mar
4
Lufthansa A320 – Hamburg landing incident.
Filed Under Air Safety, Lucky | 7 Comments
This one has been reported all over the place as it is ‘little’ spectacular. I include it here just in case you missed it elsewhere.
Whatever your views on pilot fatigue, you must concede that these guys were wide awake when they eventually cleared the runway – so were their passengers.
More from The Aeroplane Blog
Let’s put aside the question as to why they were there in the first place, landing when the surface wind is gusting to 155mph (as reported in The Daily Telegraph {UK}) is going to sporty. Perhaps these boys (actually the first officer [handling] was a lady) were caught in the jaws of force majeure and didn’t have other options. Either way – well done the ‘Luftwaffe’ mates!
I recall seeing a friend and colleague (new Airbus Captain) walking into the crewroom after landing as white as a sheet when the surface winds had been gusting 65 knots at LHR one winter. We had been using runway 23 as it was almost into wind, a rare occurrence in London. The control laws on the Airbus make the dance at the threshold really exciting if you haven’t quite got the hang of the technique – by all accounts.
How does it go, “If it ain’t a Boeing….” well, that’s just dogma! 
Unbelievable!
I’m so glad no injuries.
Taku,
Yes, it must have felt awful from the flight deck too. Home for a hot bath and a large Saki/Shnaps I think. That is, when they have tidied up the paperwork…. :-0
All the best,
Norman
As an old pilot myself I have to say ‘that was without doubt intense and brilliant airmanship – what superb flying !
Best wishes Philip Devereux.
Ludlow
Shropshire
I can only echo your comments Philip. The guys did good as they say. As you will no doubt remember, it is a sobering feeling being up there with really wild weather beneath you that you must fly down through to get home to the cake and ale.
Character forming…..
All the best,
Norman
PS: I must complement Lars on a superb picture, he must have been well blown and soaked himself to get it from ‘the goofers gallery’. (The position near the bridge of a RN carrier where ‘arrivals’ are observed and often filmed from.)
[...] Vorige week was op duizenden sites het filmpje terug te vinden van een Airbus 320 die het tijdens de landing in Hamburg door zware wind bijna niet haalde. De piloot slaagde er uiteindelijk in zijn kist aan de grond te krijgen en de 131 passagiers kwamen er met de schrik vanaf: [...]
This video’s been out for awhile. Here’s an article about the results of the investigation:
Near-Crash in Hamburg – Investigators Criticize Airbus for Inadequate Pilot Manuals
This article covers the problem in more detail:
The Computer vs. the Captain – Will Increasing Automation Make Jets Less Safe?
Sometimes too much automated flight control isn’t a good thing
Hi Eyecare,
Coming back into the crewroom during high wind operations at Heathrow would invariably turn up pale faced Airbus pilots from short-haul. I think it took a while to get used to the way the flight control logic works as you cross the threshold getting knocked about a bit.
Will automation make jets less safe – there are several schools of thought aren’t there? My feeling is that another look at design philosophy is required to make automation work for us rather than act as some kind of schoolmaster where you are shown what the aircraft feels you ought to know and hides what you don’t. This is a long conversation and generalising fogs the debate I think.