Originally Posted by sfoeuroflyer

I am both an Airline Transport rated pilot and flight instructor.

What seemed likely yesterday now seems clear. This was purely pilot error. The glide slope of the ILS (Instrument Landing System) was turned off at SFO. This means that the pilot could not use his autopilot for the approach. However, the weather was perfect and visual approaches were what was required. This means that the pilot had to determine his own glide path to the runway.

Plainly he landed short. Indeed, this has all the earmarks of what student pilots show before they learn to do better. When a glide path is coming up short, the response by the pilots must be application of power. That is the only response that works. Human nature unfortunately suggests raising the nose as that creates the illusion that the short glide path is being fixed. Actually that makes things worse as it does not lengthen the glide path; instead it reduces airspeed.

So what do we see here: throttles at idle position and airspeed 7 knots too slow.

Honestly this is inexcusable incompetence in the flight deck. These are mistakes that student pilots make in Cessna 150s before they are taught to do better. Not in an airliner.

Seems without the crutch of a glide slope and an autopilot coupled approach, this crew was not up to the job.

Tragic, sad, inexplicable, incompetent.