BA Airbus G/A in GIB

[Cacophonix]

Back in the day when Cardiff Airport (Roose) had two active runways 12/30 and (if my memory is not failing me) a cross runway (now deprecated and used as a taxiway) 03/21, no doubt somebody will correct me.

Anyway on a 21 approach with a north westerly wind blowing this little beauty

British_Airways_maintenance_building_at_Cardiff_Airport.jpg (28.83 KiB) Viewed 506 times

used to set up the most perfect rotor and landings could become very interesting indeed. Only experienced by the little tin people, but I managed to find a 40 degree bank one gusty day which did leave me sweating on a 21 approach at about 100 feet on the QFE.

Obstructions like the Gib one noted, that sets up even big iron for "interesting approaches, have downed light aircraft as highlighted by Alex Henshaw in his book 'The Flight of the Mew Gull'.

Falcon demise.JPG (19.77 KiB) Viewed 506 times

The larger blob above is the pilot's body and the tiny blob is his decapitated head after severe turbulence flung him through the roof of his aircraft and into the prop...

SCARBOROUGH, Yorkshire, Sept. 10 -- Wing-Commander Percy Sherren met his death in the King's Cup air race today when his plane, caught in treacherous air currents 400 feet above the sea, rolled badly, failed to level up, and dropped. It crashed into a hill.

Sherren was thrown out of the cockpit and rolled over the edge of a cliff into the sea. His pilot, Wing-Commander E. H. Hilton, was pinned in the wreckage. Both officers apparently were killed at the first impact.

http://www.islandregister.com/sherren/page118.html

There be dragons out on them there approaches...

Just checked my log book and the entry for that flight simply says "FFS" in the comments section.

Caco

[Boac]

I hear from 'inside' BA that some arcane Airbus feature meant that following some fault or other, HAL went into 'Direct Law' (ie flew like a real aeroplane....) and the (handling) F/O had obviously been on AB only in BA and had forgotten how to fly. Why the Captain (assuming, of course, he has not lost his basic flying skills ) did not wrest control from the YOP in the RHS I know not. Perhaps too busy chucking up into a bag!

[Cacophonix]

I hear from 'inside' BA that some arcane Airbus feature meant that following some fault or other, HAL went into 'Direct Law' (ie flew like a real aeroplane....) and the (handling) F/O had obviously been on AB only in BA and had forgotten how to fly. Why the Captain (assuming, of course, he has not lost his basic flying skills ) did not wrest control from the YOP in the RHS I know not. Perhaps too busy chucking up into a bag!

I asked an SAA AB baron (no grey hair so he worries me intensely, more like a flying foetus than a Captain of an A340) about direct law and he implied that the horizontal stabiliser is controlled by the trim wheel and there are limits on elevator defelection so maybe being flung into such a situation in extreme turbulence is not as easlily managed manually as we might blithely imagine. No doubt Slasher will be along shortly to set me straight on these matters!

Caco

[barkingmad]

Might be ex-RAF pilot(s) with radio failure just repeating what they were taught at B F T S and subsequently it's all been misinterpreted. . . .

[Slasher]

Nope Caco you're right. Direct Law has no protections nor limits - it flies like a normal aircraft but is extremely sensitive stickwise speshly at high speeds.

And it is easy to stall. Need I show you that 320 sim clip again?

[Ibbie]

Worth noting that there have been quite a number of diversions of A319/320 aircraft operating for both BA and easyJet to Malaga from Gib due to high winds this year.

[llondel]

I guess Spain has relaxed its restriction prohibiting Gib-bound flights from landing in Spain. They used to go to Tangiers and then back to Malaga.

[Boac]

And Faro, which was better for transport.

[Ibbie]

High winds again.

This afternoons BA490 from LHR got down below 2000, then aborted landing. Now back at 6000 over the Med. Looks to be making another attempt.

EZY1963 from MAN is due in about 10 minutes. See how that does.

[Woody]

High winds again.

This afternoons BA490 from LHR got down below 2000, then aborted landing. Now back at 6000 over the Med. Looks to be making another attempt.

EZY1963 from MAN is due in about 10 minutes. See how that does.

Looks like they made it at the 2nd attempt.

[Ibbie]

EZY got straight into GIB.

BA followed it in and has now landed.

[Boac]

See? That's how you do it Nigel ........... Easy!

[Ibbie]

Another windy day .

easyJet due at 11.00 from LGW diverted to AGP.
BA from LHR looks to have aborted approach. Now made it in on second attempt.

[Ibbie]

The BA flight mentioned above was the only scheduled flight to get in and out of Gib yesterday, as the winds did blow.

The two later flights, one each of BA and easy, diverted to AGP.

[Woody]

The BA flight mentioned above was the only scheduled flight to get in and out of Gib yesterday, as the winds did blow.

The two later flights, one each of BA and easy, diverted to AGP.

The company that’s got the contract to bus pax between GIB and AGP for BA must be making a fortune, because I reckon about 10% of flights must divert during the winter.

[Ibbie]

Think it's The Bland Group who have the BA contract. It certainly used to be.

They owned GB Airways at some stage in the recent past.

[Woody]

Think it's The Bland Group who have the BA contract. It certainly used to be.

They owned GB Airways at some stage in the recent past.

Wasn’t it Ayling that sold GB Airways, to EasyJet

[Ibbie]

Have a read of this Woody.

It's quite complicated!

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... et-223140/