Ah. Do you think other airlines will follow?

The River Visual is a published approach procedure to rwy 19 at DCA. One of the more enjoyable commercial approaches in the USA, if not the world. Pretty scenic, too, if you find yourself in a window seat on the left side of the airplane. ;)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ver_Visual.png

Getting under those bridges is the tricky part. ;)

Cool! Is this post 9/11?

Nope.

The charts get updated periodically, small changes, new date, etc. but this one's been there for some time.
Big time Bozo NoNo to fly thru P-56 (P = Prohibited).

Lots of similar "fun" charted visuals at various other airports.

Most of this has to do with the amount of training pilots receive vs. FAs and in the rigor of testing and "checks" that pilots have to go through both to get the job in the first place and to keep it. It would be extremely expensive to put all airline FAs through a similar vetting process and it probably wouldn't be worth the expense relative to the potential impact on overall airline safety.

'Zactly!

We're vetted well before we make it to the majors.
On day one at the airline we already have a lot of flying time and experience behind us.
One doesn't walk out of hs or college right into the "front row" of an airliner.

And, military or civilian, pilots are very unforgiving of the "weak links".

I'm ex-mil.
Basic pilot training is a year. You are graded/evaluated EVERY day.
Then you have RTU to get thru. (Replacement Tng Unit).
Even after that your peer group is highly critical of any demonstrated deficiency.
Can't cut it? FEB! (Flying Evaluation Board)

Some folks just aren't meant to fly.
Not a negative thing. Just the reality of it.
Everyone's got their niche.
I consider myself fortunate to have found mine.

DCA approach is enjoyable, yes. TGU and the old HKG are/were downright thrilling, imo. :)

Many years ago I was on a 727 (in the jump seat) landing on Rwy22 at LGA. The controller said, "XXnnn, LGA Tower. Runway 22, cleared to land. Prepare to go-around!" Pilot said, "thanks for the heads-up," and so was mentally prepared for what was about to come.... and it did.

Just be thankful that the pilot didn't have to utter the words "I should have gone around". :)

Been on a few aborted landings. Worst one was in a thunderstorm (this was 1989) trying to land at DCA. Ended up diverting to Dulles. Most scared I have ever been on a plane.

Nothing beats an aborted takeoff. Had that happen in a 757 at PHX on America West.

Aborted landings are no big whoop, generally speaking. A friend of mine is a pilot and he told me it's all computerized. Definitely pretty controlled situation.

You get into a wind shear situation and it's no joke. A microburst can take a plane down especially durning the critical phases of flight like takeoffs and landings.

I've sent planes around before, it happens. Sometimes we screw up, sometimes it is the plane ahead slow to clear the runway. In any case a go around is the safest solution to ensure seperation of the aircraft. Generally you make a mental note of the call sign so that when they are inbound for the second attempt you don't have to send them around again, but if the safety of the flight requires it a second time, around they go.

I love flying into DCA when you get the downriver approach like that. It's definitely one of the best views of the city available.

I went years without experiencing any go-arounds, but have had a couple in the last year alone. First was IAH-ATL last August, just some stormy weather in the area. Couldn't see much for all of the clouds, but we made at least one circuit of the airport after having been on final. A couple months back I was on a YYT-EWR leg and the crosswinds were just crazy. I could tell on the approach that it was going to be an adventure the way we were moving around; sure enough, the pilot got the wheels down within probably 10 feet of the runway but couldn't get the aircraft to drop those last few feet with enough blacktop left for us to stop on. So off we went again.