AA Jamaica UPDATE: Jamaican Investigator claims poor landing

[ImbracableCrunk]

I think the point that some of the posters are making isn't that we should violate SOPs, it's that SOPs are themselves a bit goofy.

FOs can handle a V1 cut, but they can't take off with less than 1500m rvr? Yeah, that makes sense.

See the difference?

 

[GuppyWN]

Even if your gut or prior experience put the safety of doing such in doubt?

Legal does not always necessarily equal safe.

This is the exact "group think" mentality some posters are trying to get at.

We've all seen aircraft after aircraft land long or hot when a field is running approaches with a tailwind. At my domicile it takes 3 go-arounds, or crews not accepting the tailwind before they flip the field. The majority of pilots don't do it because it is "inconvenient." You think the crews don't control the flow, but in reality we really do.

We've also all seen company or OAL aircraft depart into nasty weather or after reported windshear alerts because waiting was "inconvenient."

We've all seen the time-lapse videos of DFW or MEM arrivals and how crews continually try to "beat" weather to the point where they eventually put themselves in a position of penetrating a cell in close proximity to the ground that they would normally avoid by 10-20 miles enroute. Just because the Lear went through the rainshower on short ahead of us doesn't necessarily mean we'll make it through with our L-1011.

Ultimately, it comes down to the PIC of the aircraft to determine what is safe and how the operation is carried out. And it comes down to the SIC to keep the PIC honest.

All very good points. I was making a statement in brevity. There are certainly situations that it is legal to land when I have not/would not. I will, however, continue to feel very comfortable landing with a tailwind in MDW if the computer shows several 100 or 1000 feet of stopping margin.

The real world is not cut and dried and I'm aware of that. I am also very aware that when you approach the edge of the envelope - you'd better do it perfectly.

At first blush it appears the AA guys landed long. Probably not a big problem unless you add in a wet runway and a tailwind.

Gup