negs

So, I'm wondering how many folks here have been through an actual "emergency landing"?

Something was wrong with the flaps....FA announced this was "a routine procedure"; that the pilot was mandated to declare an emergency when the a/c had this kind of problem.

I was on six flights in the past seven days. Turns out that this was the gentlest landing of them all! No one would have been the wiser if they had said nothing.....except for the extensive cadre of emergency vehicles along the runway!

Now, I'm not complaining about any of the above.....I know that they had to handle it that way. Still, it was such a surreal experince. You always hear the safety speech at the start of the flight....and we were so close to landing before being informed of the need to protect our heads, etc......these days, when you think of emergencies onboard you're more apt to be thinking about the guy who's setting fire to his underwear. Most folks on board really didn't know how to react.

Perhaps this is an inappropiate post, or at the very least, in the wrong forum. but it's been about four hours now since we landed (all safe!) and I'm still coming down from the adreniline pumping through me.

Thoughts, anyone?

KtownTraveler

Pop a beta blocker.

gemac

Approach flaps are used to allow slower landing speed, thus using less runway for rollout. MKE has a runway length of 9690 feet, and you were in a CR7, not in a 747. I'm not surprised it was the yawner you describe.

Thoughts? You were in more danger in the jetway.

sluggoaafa

Thoughts? You were more in danger getting too/from the airport...


Glad everything turned out OK either way. Pilots train for no flap (extended) landings, Flight Attendants train for Emergency evacuations. Glad everything came out OK for your flight!

It happens; it doesn't matter how the best maintained aircraft maintained, there will be a mechanical at some point.

Happy Travels

thechosenuno

In the last year or two I was on an flight to LGA (MD-80). About 30 mins. before landing, we were told that there was a problem with the flaps, and we needed to make a landing at JFK where there was a longer runway. I can't remember if he referred to it as an "emergency."

The landing went off without a hitch. The big problem was that we were told by the pilot that they would make arrangements for all of us to be taken to LGA should we want to. Sitting in 3E, I got to hear the conversation between the FA who was at the door when it opened and the AA person at JFK who wasn't the most tactful in saying that she had not and would not arrange for any transportation. Needless to say, people were really pissed about being at an airport farther from Manhattan.

I wouldn't have taken a bus to LGA, but I was mildly irked to have to pay for the twice as expensive cap ride from JFK to Manhattan.

hillrider

Care to elaborate?

negs

Hillrider asked me to elaborate on that.

Only one pax was very visibly upset. Most everyone was quite quiet; I'm sure many were silently praying for a safe outcome. One pax in the exit row turned to another and asked "What the hell do we do now?" A few nervous comments.

We were coming in quick, and the FA didn't have much time to give directions: make sure seat belts were buckled, tray tables stored, seats upright, nothing unsecure that could fly around, lean over and protect our heads.

One thing that I think most of us didn't realize (I didn't): once the wheels were on the ground, I think most of us thought that all danger had passed, as folks began to sit up and take a look around. Fact is, in retrospect, that getting wheels to the ground wasn't the problem; the real problem was being able to stop once the wheels hit the ground. So, as folks began to look up, the FA began shouting: "Keep your heads down."

From what others have posted here, and from talking to an Eagle pilot earlier today, I now know that there wasn't as much danger as the required procedures under the circumstances might lead one to believe (the pilot suggested that he would have used the word "precaution" instead of "emergency"), but at the time, of course, we didn't know that.

Addendum: Before and during the "emergency", the pilot never spoke to us. The pilot relayed all info via the FA. It wasn't until after we were on the ground and stopped that the pilot spoke. I found that a bit odd. I would have thought that the pilot would have said something, and then allowed the FA to fill us in on the prep details.

njvandy

I would imagine the pilot was busy going through emergency checklists and actually landing the plane.

000123UA

Ultimately I suppose this is at the pilot's discretion, but there is a "sterile cockpit" rule prohibiting activities by flight crew other than those required for the safe operation of the aircraft under 10,000’ and in other “critical” phases of flight (including landing). Most pilots would probably deem it critical to communicate key information to the cabin crew, but not consider a PA announcement to fall within this criteria. Again, there's probably a gray area here, but I'm happy to let the flight crew focus on the non-standard approach and landing procedures and let the cabin crew deal with pax briefing.

negs

I didn't ask for any kind of compensation (Hey.....just glad that everything endup up o.k.!!) but this morning received this email and 10,000 bonus miles:

Dear Mr. negs:

We know you and all our other customers on board flight 3529 on March 1 must have been upset by the sequence of events that occurred. There is no question, that situation was unsettling (to say the least) and we are sorry for what happened.

Based on the information I received, our captain determined that a potential
mechanical issue had occurred with the aircraft. In accordance with standard
operating safety procedures, he asked that the emergency response team be deployed upon landing. I can well imagine how unnerving it was to see emergency vehicles and personnel meet your flight. Nevertheless, your safety is our primary concern.

In appreciation for your patience during that difficult situation, I've added
10,000 Customer Service bonus miles to your AAdvantage® account. You should see this mileage adjustment in your account very soon. For your convenience, you can view your account online via http://www.aa.com/AAdvantage®.

All of us here at American Airlines are committed to the absolute safety of each andevery customer. While the kind of situation you experienced doesn't happen very often, we won't hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to keep our customers safe. We'll do our best to provide a smooth trip the next time you fly with us. We will look forward to the opportunity.

Sincerely,

jbcarioca

BTW, such an event is neither "emergency" nor "precautionary", it is defined as "abnormal" which means that you'd normally do something else, but what you're doing is an entirely acceptable way of proceeding, just not the preferred one. Almost all aircraft have "abnormal procedures" permitting alnding an aircraft without flaps, and in fact such landings are typically required in the flight examination, called a "check ride", which a pilot must successfully pass in order to receive a "type rating" which allow the pilot to act as pilot-in-command of the specific aircraft type. this may be more than you want to know, but the chief pilot had to prove that specific skill to get the job flying the aircraft. No big deal, just takes more space to stop after landing.

hillrider

Thanks. The human aspect of these situations are often scarier than the situation itself, and it's interesting (to me) to note what happens during an abnormality.
Kudos to AA for being proactive (and sending a very well written note) and to you for posting a follow-up.

Krazyglue

There are a few flap issues. One is that the flaps wont deploy at all. This requires a higher landing speed and a longer rollout with possible hot brake occurring.

The bad one is flap asymmetry. This is where the flap on the left is doing something different than on the right. This makes the aircraft have a roll and brings on all sorts of problems.

My personal scary moment was on a UA 727-223 on a check flight after a D check at a 3rd party maintenance facility. I was on-board to write down trim numbers for the flaps and any other flight control gripes.

We were over the cascades at night flying from Everett out over Moses Lake and back. The outflow valve failed at FL350. The white flash was different than i expected it to be. We did a hard spiral dive. I was a c-130 load-master in the USMC for a few years and this was a bit much for me.

Long story short is we almost hit a mountain during the decent. I could see it through the open cockpit door.

It ended OK obviously. That was my last check ride i ever volunteered for.

mickeydfly13

No flap landings can be fun when the maximum tire rotation speed is only a couple of knots higher than Vref......especially if there's a bit of gusty winds.

ak333

We had a flap issue happen to us landing at LAX a few months ago - on a 757 MCO-LAX. We did a go-around, and the Captain said that the landing would be faster than normal and to warn us that we would see the "equipment" standing by.

Being LAX, when we got back into the pattern, there was also a news helicopter taking video of us. We landed fine, and had an expedited taxi to the gate where we were greeted by a swarm of mechanics.

No letter and no mileage from AAdvanatage for us though.