Moderators: richierich, ua900, PanAm_DC10, hOMSaR
add2718 wrote:Humor me if this is a dumb question -- I live near the approach/departure path for PHL. Usually the airport is in west flow, but if the winds are coming from the east then they shift to east flow.
However, it seems as if cloudy / rainy days frequently correspond to east flow. I am not sure if the winds on these days are always out of the east as well. My question is, does visibility ever overrule wind direction in determining which direction the runways are used? Not necessarily just at PHL but anywhere.
T54A wrote:During the Afrique Air A330 crash, the ATC didn’t feel like looking into the sun, rather giving that pleasure to the pilots. In this case, down-sun landing visibility should have determined the runway.
SAAFNAV wrote:T54A wrote:During the Afrique Air A330 crash, the ATC didn’t feel like looking into the sun, rather giving that pleasure to the pilots. In this case, down-sun landing visibility should have determined the runway.
Really? Who told you that?
The final report (https://reports.aviation-safety.net/201 ... 5A-ONG.pdf) states that the pilots messed up big time and ignored the SOP regarding climb after TAWS warnings.
A contributing factor was "Weather available to the crew did not reflect the actual weather situation in the final approach segment at Tripoli International Airport."
Direction of sunlight is not a weather factor, and that part was caused by a layer of cloud not reported.
Either way, that should still not cause a crew to fly into the ground if you fly the profile correctly.
T54A wrote:I agree completely, but ATC still chose the inappropriate runway to suit them and not the pilots based on the sun. Down Sun viz was much better than into sun viz. Inexperienced crew on FBW Airbus did a Go Around without actually using the side stick to pitch the nose up. A FBW Airbus with underslung engines won’t pitch up with a thrust increase like a conventional machine. They basically did a Go Around into the ground.
Wind was westerly, they cleared to land on 09. 09 only had a VOR/DME (no vertical guidance). 27 had a Cat 2 ILS.