GateHold
Oct 2, 08, 7:54 pm
This week in Patrick Smith's ASK THE PILOT at Salon.com:
The go-around, missed approach, aborted landing. Call it what you will, it scares the crap out of passengers. Down, down, down, then up, up, up… The engines roar, the nose heaves skyward. Your plane has aborted its landing. How terrified should you be?
“…As for the steepness or suddenness of the climb, that is the manner in which any go-around is executed. No need to dilly-dally around at low altitude. The safest direction is up -- as quickly as practical. The abrupt transition from a gentle descent to a rapid climb might be noisy and jarring, but it's perfectly natural for an airplane. In some instances, a plane might actually touch down before lifting off again. Unusual and unnerving, perhaps, but well within an airliner’s capabilities. From a pilot’s perspective, these maneuvers are not terribly difficult, but the workload is very high. The first step… “
To read the full story, click here:
http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/2008/10/03/askthepilot293/
To skip the gateway ad, watch for the “Enter Salon” link in the upper right corner.
The go-around, missed approach, aborted landing. Call it what you will, it scares the crap out of passengers. Down, down, down, then up, up, up… The engines roar, the nose heaves skyward. Your plane has aborted its landing. How terrified should you be?
“…As for the steepness or suddenness of the climb, that is the manner in which any go-around is executed. No need to dilly-dally around at low altitude. The safest direction is up -- as quickly as practical. The abrupt transition from a gentle descent to a rapid climb might be noisy and jarring, but it's perfectly natural for an airplane. In some instances, a plane might actually touch down before lifting off again. Unusual and unnerving, perhaps, but well within an airliner’s capabilities. From a pilot’s perspective, these maneuvers are not terribly difficult, but the workload is very high. The first step… “
To read the full story, click here:
http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/2008/10/03/askthepilot293/
To skip the gateway ad, watch for the “Enter Salon” link in the upper right corner.