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Hard Landing


Mac Bowden

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Yup, two other things I learned from my off runway excursion - go around and keep active on the rudder. I thought I would be OK on the grass between the runway and the taxiway until I got to the on ramp and the 3' ditch on the other side.

Also, one thing my instructor never talked about was transition training. I didn't have any. No excuses, I screwed up, but I had a bit of benign assistance along the way.

Personally, if I don't place the the wheels , exactly where and how I want it  on the runway, I go around and try again. My CFI used to tell me," the ground is hard, the air is soft", when in doubt go around.

 

Cheers

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Personally, if I don't place the the wheels , exactly where and how I want it on the runway, I go around and try again. My CFI used to tell me," the ground is hard, the air is soft", when in doubt go around.

 

Cheers

Yes, I learned this the hard way. (Could have been worse.) I was too much of a rookie to know how to transition, and the insurance company's first request was, "How much time in type did your transition instructor have?" I told them none, their request only said 3 hours with an instructor, which I did. (It seemed strange to me at the time.) Nothing like a crash to make you take safety, airspeed, weather, and all things related to flight seriously. Have not been anywhere near this issue since then. I had only one month in that plane.

I fly in a place that has some if the highest average winds in the country. (One of the local flight instructors gave that as a primary reason for going to UND for his flight degree.) There are times when that is a PITA, but it does make you better at stick and rudder. There were a couple of other dumb/ uninformed things I did that didn't help but the embarrassment was a good teacher.

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As far as a go around, the approach was great it was the touchdown that was the issue, and the steerable nose wheel. (A both transition issues.) Once I was in the grass I thought I could stop there until I hit the taxiway approach and ended up in the ditch hanging from the seatbelts.

This has been cathartic, but enough. Thanks.

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Let me add a caveat here:

 

Yes, going around is very often the right thing to do.

 

But there are also fatals that occur after things have gone horribly awry where the pilot instinctively pulls an already damaged plane back into the air, only to crash with more dire consequences than if the plane had simply stayed on the ground.

 

It's the kind of thing that can happen too quickly to make a reasoned decision. So best to think about it beforehand.

 

Yes, go around on any approach that seems even a little bit iffy. But once ground contact is made, going around may cease to be a viable option - there are times to just ride it out and accept the consequences.

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Don't think people are talking about a damaged plane...just how to guess when a go-around is called for...

 

If saving a landing is going on then a go around.  If the wind kicks you in the teeth just as you go over the numbers, then go around. If you touch down and start to fly again due to wind or too much speed, then go around.  If you don't feel like going around, then go around....

 

If someone takes the runway on your final ignoring your approach, go around (happened to my wife last week).  Same goes for an animal or a person on the runway.

 

If you touchdown nose wheel first, pull back on the stick, add throttle, go around.  If you sideload, pull back on the sitck, add throttle, go around.  If you bounce once, go around, if twice, really go around, a third bounce will cost you your prop or worse.

 

If the tower tells others to wait on you, ignore those waiting and land as normal.  If the pattern is busy, ignore the traffic and do what you need to do...others will have the same decision.

 

If final is within parameters (flaps, altitude, speed, wind correction, centerline, runway made), land....

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A go around in my situation would have been much worse. Either I would have hit the unseen ditch at a higher speed after the bump of the taxiway. Or I wwould not have gained altitude to clear the line of hangars. OnceI botched the landing my choices were very limited. One size doesn't fit all. With my knowledge base at the time a wrecked plane and a scratched pinky was the best outcome possible. (The holes in my knowledge are outlined above.)

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Let me add a caveat here:

 

Yes, going around is very often the right thing to do.

 

But there are also fatals that occur after things have gone horribly awry where the pilot instinctively pulls an already damaged plane back into the air, only to crash with more dire consequences than if the plane had simply stayed on the ground.

 

It's the kind of thing that can happen too quickly to make a reasoned decision. So best to think about it beforehand.

 

Yes, go around on any approach that seems even a little bit iffy. But once ground contact is made, going around may cease to be a viable option - there are times to just ride it out and accept the consequences.

Yes I agree, if the aircraft is already damaged, best recourse is to stay down.

 

 

How did he get away with this is beyond me.

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        "If saving a landing is going on then a go around. 

If the wind kicks you in the teeth just as you go over the numbers, then go around. If you touch down and start to fly again due to wind or too much speed, then go around.  If you don't feel like going around, then go around...."

 

Also agree.

 

Cheers

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