mrtravel wrote:
Tom Peel wrote:

wrote:

The Times
January 13, 2006

Stricken Jumbo was allowed to fly over centre of London

By Ben Webster

With one engine down and three failing the 747 flew over thousands of
homes

A JUMBO jet that had lost an engine and was losing power in the other
three was diverted over Central London, putting hundreds of lives at
risk on the ground, an investigation has found.


What percentage of airports capable of landing a 747 are NOT near
populated areas? Even if airports are built a distance away from
populated areas, businesses and residences are soon built closer to the
them.

The crew were "fortunate" that there was good visibility because in
low cloud "the aircraft might have landed well short of the
runway", according to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).


Why woulld it have landed "well short of the runway"
Would the clouds have caused it to suddenly drop.
The report said had plenty of altitude, so it could give up a bit if the
weight of the cloud moisture forced it down faster ( )
"The captain was forced to make a series of sharp "S" turns to lose
height as he approached Heathrow. "



The official report is he http://tinyurl.com/cogla

It appears that instead of flying a precision instrument approach, which
would be the normal procedure for a 747 at Heathrow, the captain had to
fly the plane visually as if it was a Cessna. They only got lined up for
the runway 2 miles from touchdown- a tricky procedure in a jet this
size, even with all 4 engines working. If it had been cloudy, they would
not have been able to see the runway.


T.