Steve_James

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42fchrzhHY

logos999

What a great way to die!

I'm sure it would be fast and not very painful. Kerosene burns quite well, I was told.

CarolA

I drive everyday in Atlanta, GA home of some of the worst traffic and drivers in the US.

No matter what happens in the air I figure my chances of getting killed on the way to the airport far exceed the chances of anything happening in the sky!

CarolA

(Hit post too soon)

And to be honest the video actually didn't bother me. The pilot did the right thing.... back up and try again!

longboatkey

See how the pilot was crabbing it in at almost a 90 degree angle? He knew what was happening, then does a touch full power go around.

amyb

I'm of two minds on this...first, I'd be relieved that there are pilots skilled enough to avoid whatever could have happened (although if you read some pilot forums, he was also "dumb enough" to attempt that landing knowing the wind gusts). But I think if I'd be on that flight, I might now be a permanent resident in Germany. I'm not sure I could get on another plane. But then again, if I had that kind of brush with "almost", then maybe I'm in the clear again for awhile. Lots to ponder, and I'm kind of glad I have some time to erase this image from my mind before my next flight...

logos999

Lufthansa pilots usually have an attitude, that they're the best pilots on the planet (Which of course they are not). For that reason you'll find people there that may risk more than it's worth. Bremen airport is only a short distance away. There, the front had already passed.
Anyway, a great way to die!

Robespierre

I'll be surprised if the pilot didn't bust the legal maximum crosswind component. That crab angle looks excessive (from here).

And as far as being safer in ground traffic - I disagree. Most accidents take place because someone was where s/he shouldn't have been. I won't do that - and the "other" driver won't be me, either.

Remember that the vehicle accident statistics includes 40-car pileups caused by some yahoo not adjusting his/her speed driving into fog, ice, snow, and flooding. Not to mention myriad other vehicular follies.

Dukey

I'd much rather be on that plane than on the road with people who refuse to use their headlights during the day because they think it is "stupid."

rkkwan

I have seen the video many times, and read tonnes of posts about the incident on various forums. I think it's too early to draw any conclusion.

What we know is that

- there's a strong crosswind for that runway during that time

- other flights before have landed safely

- there's another runway available at that time without the crosswind, but this crew didn't request it, until they turned around and finally landed on that alternate

- crabbing is normal for crosswind landing

- many armchair experts think the crew is not using enough right aileron to keep the right wing down

But there may be other factors. Perhaps there simply was a super super strong gust just before touchdown that lifted the right wing, which was unpredicted or not expected - which was on top of the already strong constant crosswind.

Anyways, chances of a crash is always higher when weather is not good, whether it's rain, snow or wind. The question is how much risk can one take.

mcnyc

Hm, I might not be flying Lufthansa for a bit. At least not until I get this video out of my head.

Jed

I have no special love for Lufthansa, but I imagine that this could have happened with any flight.

Was the pilot wrong to try to land? I don't know.

DAX

I've had a couple of shaky landings in Hamburg in poor weather but never thought it could be that bad. Another airport that I've had some shaky landings is in Zurich especially since Germany forbid the planes to use the northern approach which bothers the Germans who live north of Switzerland. The airplanes have to approach it in paralel with the Alps which seem to be subjected to more side wind gusts.

rkkwan

Well, it's clear that landing at that runway at that instant has elevated risk. The crosswind may well be within designed landing limit for the A320, but when the condition is already marginal, there is less leeway when other factors come into play, like an extra strong gust.

There are alternatives - like the other runway, or other airports nearby with runways of different headings. Maybe the crew should have used the alternatives. And may be the flight shouldn't even take place - like many other canceled flights across Germany and northern Europe over the weekend.

CarolA

"Most accidents take place because someone was where s/he shouldn't have been"

Since there was a nearly fatal accident just this morning in Atlanta on the interstate can I interpret this statement to mean "I shouldn't be at work" LOL! As to avoid the "yahoo" once you figure out how to do that short of NOT getting on the roads let me know. As far as I know there is no "yahoo" free zone!


As for "blaming the pilot" that seems to be the trend on here. Actually since the pilot is in the air he/she normally depends on ground control to tell him conditons.... So in the US this would be an FAA issue.

hsv

I take great comfort from that video as I am flying LH basically on a weekly basis (and a lot of that into Hamburg). A brilliant save by the pilots.
They were hit by a severe gust - why should they be to blame, they rather deserve credit.

Steve_James

Hi Rkkwan - Could you post links to the forums yoiu mention? I'm interested in this discussion. Thanks

Steve

alanRow

www.airliner.net should have coverage

rkkwan

Steve -

Here's one from the armchair pilots. There are a lot of nonsense and noise in that thread. You have to read with a grain of salt:

http://www.airliners.net/discussions....main/3869593/

Here's one from real pilots (mostly):

www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=316096

From frequent flyers:

flyertalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=796658

alanRow

Ignore that