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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Plane landing

396 replies

Atadconfussed · 04/01/2023 16:28

Trigger warning flying for those that may not be keen … x

Am I being unreasonable to think that the below was a bit concerning / any pilots want to enlighten me?!
have flown a lot when younger / pre children but felt this was different

budget airline flight, approx 300 passengers Boeing 737
landing very wobbly on approach ( think close to runway)
huge bang on landing / touch down landing gear
worst bit!!! Very very intense what felt like attempts to break without slowing …. Loudest reverse thrust noise ever and the cabin shaking so so much
I felt pinned back in my seat and awaited a huge issue!
afterwards everyone was studded … one women crying and a few choice words heard through the cabin….
Thoughts please

OP posts:
Spect8 · 04/01/2023 18:52

I remember seeing youtube vids of the old Kai Tak landings. It seems that the planes had to take a sharp turn before final approach. It looked very scary indeed as they seemed to navigate through high rise buildings, but I don't know if the clips were true to life or not.

I could watch the landings in St. Maarten all day if I could. One day I'll go there and watch from the beach. The bucket list.

Theimpossiblegirl · 04/01/2023 18:54

I knew it was going to be Bristol.
Short windy runway, they often land like this.

CharitySchmarity · 04/01/2023 18:54

I once had a landing like that with Austrian. I wasn't scared because I assumed if it was not normal they would have done an announcement and asked us to assume special positions.

Parky04 · 04/01/2023 18:55

Not unusual for a 747.

oakleaffy · 04/01/2023 19:00

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 04/01/2023 16:43

'Did we land, or were we shot down?' 😂

Someone I know had an RAF Spitfire pilot Dad from WW2..Definitely very Gung ho and heroic..
However, DS hated flying,
Got over it by going to Madeira a few times, one of the most tricky places land , so say.
If you walk away from it, it's an ok landing ..Definitely😂🛫 true

FictionalCharacter · 04/01/2023 19:06

BellePeppa · 04/01/2023 18:07

I was just about to ask the same thing. Ryan Air landings are awful and I won’t use them again.

This is a very good discussion on Ryanair landings with a lot of comments from pilots:
https://community.infiniteflight.com/t/ryanairs-bad-landings-explanation/269067
They are really not bad landings at all. There are no safety issues. The tendency for Ryanair to do firmer shorter landings is a combination of the procedures for the aircraft they use, the airports they fly from and the need for quick turnarounds.

I don’t like Ryanair because of their terrible customer service, but there’s nothing wrong with their pilot training and safety standards. Most of what people are calling “hard landings” here are not genuine hard landings, just firmer landings than people expect or like. If it’s what’s defined as a hard landing it has to be reported, and the aircraft has to be inspected for damage before it flies again. That causes delays and every airline and pilot wants to avoid that.

CheesenCrackersmm · 04/01/2023 19:12

I was interested in this and have done some digging on the internet.

The Ryanair fleet is all 737s. The general theme on the internet is that these come in at a greater approach speed and have stiffer landing gear than a similar sizes Airbus. The result will generally be firmer landings.

It seems that the softness or hardness of landings is not necessarily an indicator of how safe the landing was. I gather that hard landings can be perfectly safe if somewhat unsetting for nervous passengers.

Couple this with the higher winds today and it sounds like a non event. Not to try and belittle the OPs experience.

Han99 · 04/01/2023 19:14

Leeds Bradford is a very bumpy landing too. Think it's the highest airport in England or some fact along those lines!!

StressedToTheMaxxx · 04/01/2023 19:19

Ex cabin crew- nothing to worry about. I know it can be scary, especially to nervous fliers, but honestly, the pilots have it in hand. Even when it seems like they don't!

Gerwurtztraminer · 04/01/2023 19:19

If anyone ever finds themselve flying into Wellington airport in New Zealand on a windy day, hang on tight! It's well known for it's cross winds and shorter runway (2081m) with the Cook Strait at one end and the harbour at the other, both with roads in between. It's limited on aircraft size and international flights as a result.

I've had quite a few very rough landlings and some 'touch down/go arounds' there were a bit terrifying as the thrust to take off again is immense. And with Wellington being so hilly flying in from the harbour approach feels like you can almost touch some of the houses at one point!

It's a bit of a local sport to go to Lyall Bay in winter, park up and watch the planes wobbling in. Planespotters love the place but if you are of a nervous flying disposition do not look on You Tube!

LemonPledge555 · 04/01/2023 19:23

My DH has done a load of “fear of flying” stuff and they always say that the gentle landings are actually not great for the plane.

Lunde · 04/01/2023 19:23

I used to fly regularly and have had a few like that in high winds - would you prefer a divert to a different airport?

Once had one in high winds where we had to pull out at the last minute as we were hit with winds as we came down- Had another where we bounced sidewards due to wind. Had one where we circled Garwick for 90 minutes waiting for it to be safe where the pilot said we would have a go but if it wasn't possible we would divert to Southampton as we were low on fuel - luckily we made a very bumpu landing,

notimagain · 04/01/2023 19:26

Atadconfussed · 04/01/2023 16:28

Trigger warning flying for those that may not be keen … x

Am I being unreasonable to think that the below was a bit concerning / any pilots want to enlighten me?!
have flown a lot when younger / pre children but felt this was different

budget airline flight, approx 300 passengers Boeing 737
landing very wobbly on approach ( think close to runway)
huge bang on landing / touch down landing gear
worst bit!!! Very very intense what felt like attempts to break without slowing …. Loudest reverse thrust noise ever and the cabin shaking so so much
I felt pinned back in my seat and awaited a huge issue!
afterwards everyone was studded … one women crying and a few choice words heard through the cabin….
Thoughts please

Main thoughts from somebody with umpty thousand Boeing hours:

It's quite probable the pilots did a good job, by the book.

"Wobbly on approach" probably means it was windy, that one of those things that happens.

As for the landing etc: -

The Boeing manuals for most of their types usually have comment along the line (to paraphrase) that the pilot shouldn't attempt "grease" the aircraft onto the runway, or strive for an overly gentle landing - reason being that you want to get the aircraft onto the runway promptly so that:

Speed brakes/a.k.a. spoilers (panels on top of wing) auto deploy - destroys lift on wing, gets aircraft weight onto wheels.

Wheel brakes can then start doing their job.

In addition once touched down, those noisy thrust reversers can be deployed so they start doing their job of helping reduce speed.

What you really don't want the handling pilot to be doing, especially on a short runway, especially on a short wet runway, is to be floating gently along a foot or so above the concrete trying to impress the passengers with a smooth landing.

The end result of that can be touching down "deep" and not have much runway left to actually stop ....and FWIW do a floaty/deep/gentle landing on a check ride and there will be at the very least adverse comment from the examiner.

So whilst those up front do strive to make things fairly comfortable a landing you don't feel "down the back" can actually be very sub-optimal and OTOH a firm landing is more by the book.

Picking up a couple of other points I've seen mentioned:

If you touch down correctly on a long runway, get the speed reduced and then ATC offer you the option of rolling along to the end that then is permissible...it doesn't mean you almost didn't stop.

Where I worked junior pilots certainly didn't get most of the landings, it was normally a 50:50 split, captain/co-pilot, but there were some circumstances where the captain had to do the landing (certain weather conditions).

HTH

Adelant · 04/01/2023 19:27

I’m just watching the movie Flight which is on now, and reading the true story of Alaska Airlines flight 261 crash. Very upsetting.

JohnPrescottsPyjamas · 04/01/2023 19:27

My DH is a Ryanair pilot - he’s also flown for other airlines too so he has comparisons - and if it’s any comfort, they take their safety culture very seriously. He and his colleagues are very regularly assessed and updated on policies/SIM checks and the company have stricter operational procedures for their crew than many other airlines. Bear in mind also how many aircraft Ryanair have in their fleet ( they’re the largest airline in Europe) and therefore how many are in the air at any time. When did you last hear of a serious incident involving one of their aircraft?

I apologise if that came across as an advert for the airline but I personally found it very reassuring as I’m actually petrified of flying myself!

ChaliceinWonderland · 04/01/2023 19:28

Ex airline stewardess here, unless the phones ring and the dollies answer there is no need to worry, I flew 8 years never had any disasters...

FeelingwearyFeeelingsmall · 04/01/2023 19:33

As far as I'm concerned any landing without injury at your chosen destination within 1 or 2 hours of your scheduled time where your luggage arrives with you is a winner.

Adelant · 04/01/2023 19:34

ChaliceinWonderland · 04/01/2023 19:28

Ex airline stewardess here, unless the phones ring and the dollies answer there is no need to worry, I flew 8 years never had any disasters...

Did you seriously just call women dollies? Or did you mean something else? Confused

IheartBTS · 04/01/2023 19:35

One of our pastimes as a family is going up to stand in the field at the end of the runway at Bristol airport, whilst the planes come in for landing above our heads 🙂. The vortex is impressive!

notimagain · 04/01/2023 19:35

Just found this which might be of interest to the OP and others:

thepointsguy.com/news/hard-airplane-landings/

It mentions the Boeing instructions I mentioned upthread:

""Do not allow the airplane to float: fly the airplane onto the runway. Do not extend the flare by increasing pitch attitude in an attempt to achieve a perfectly smooth touchdown.""

DashboardConfessional · 04/01/2023 19:36

My worst ever was Easyjet, Porto to Stansted in Storm Eunice. I was with my boss and we were both white as sheets as we swung from side to side. We bounced twice!

I took off in Hurricane Sandy but you're so fast out of the area that it felt ok. The pilot said "Let's give it a go." Haha.

Beneficialchampion2 · 04/01/2023 19:36

It's actually intentional on budget flights.

IheartBTS · 04/01/2023 19:36

IheartBTS · 04/01/2023 19:35

One of our pastimes as a family is going up to stand in the field at the end of the runway at Bristol airport, whilst the planes come in for landing above our heads 🙂. The vortex is impressive!

I meant to put Vortices!

Georgyporky · 04/01/2023 19:40

@notimagain You seem to know what you're talking about, apologies for pestering you.
I asked upthread why it's possible to use instruments to land in fog, but not low cloud @ FNC The replies haven't actually addressed the question.

Runningfire · 04/01/2023 19:41

If there are any landing issues pilots take off again immediately so there won’t have been anything wrong or that would have happened. I hate flying and it’s happened to me. Wasn’t fun. But it’s perfectly safe and not that unusual