Not Euro, and not GA, but maybe of interest.
Took off from Shanghai (ZSPD) yesterday morning for LHR in an aircraft that weighed 363 tonnes on take-off (5 below max). Passenger had a suspected heart attack at top of climb. Consulted our medical provider and initiated a return to ZSPD.
Pan declared to get priority, then requested fuel jettison to reduce weight for landing. (We can land overweight but it’s best to reduce weight if possible.) Requested fuel jettison – denied – told we had to fly past destination to jettison fuel then return to land. We weren’t going to delay the landing so we declared a Mayday and started fuel jettison…
Managed to reduce weight to 295 tonnes for landing, only 36 above MLW. Approach speed was 161 kt. Thought I might be spending the night in a Chinese police cell, but nothing heard after landing.
Took off again two hours later with the aim of getting as close to LHR before running out of hours. However it looked like we’d have a few minutes to spare so we continued and company advised Swanick of our flight time limitations (absolute max 18 hours unless you have an emergency). On arrival at LAM told 20 minutes holding, and to declare a Pan if I wanted priority. Fair enough. Didn’t really want to declare a second Pan in one day…
Eventually landed with 8 minutes left on the clock. 17 hours and 52 minutes duty day. Hey ho!
What a day at the office…
Chris, what if winds turned out to be worse than forecasted during the long flight making you to have 18 hours on the clock? Only the planned flight time matters, or what happens?
We couldn’t go over 18 hours unless we had an emergency and it was the safest thing to do. We flight-planned for LHR but were expecting to land en route before we ran out of hours.
I was hoping for a night in Copenhagen (but didn’t mention that to the pax)!
We extended our duty period by crew rest and commander’s discretion. The discretion can be up to three hours but you can’t go over unless you have an emergency. The duty period finishes when you park so you need to make sure there’s a free gate waiting for you as well. I heard a BA guy shut down on the taxiway last year rather than go over…
Interesting, especially the trade-off decision between fuel jettison (how would you rate the ecological impact?) vs. needing to inspect / overhaul the landing gear (and possibly other structures)…
Interesting, especially the trade-off decision between fuel jettison (how would you rate the ecological impact?) vs. needing to inspect / overhaul the landing gear (and possibly other structures)…
I assume the trade off would be described (if interviewed) as between landing safely or not landing safely given the time pressure caused by the ill PAX.
OK. Are there any weights (below MTOW but above MLW) where a normal landing has to be considered a “danger” for the passengers (due to possible gear collapse or so)?
What happens to you if you go over the 18hrs?
Interesting, especially the trade-off decision between fuel jettison (how would you rate the ecological impact?) vs. needing to inspect / overhaul the landing gear (and possibly other structures)…
Depending on who you believe, fuel disperses in the atmosphere after a fall of 4,000-10,000 ft.
We can land at any weight up to MTOW in an emergency. We knock off the normal extra 5 kt above VLS (lowest selectable) to reduce landing distance and aim to touch down at less than 360 fpm. There were some brake fans available which helped to cooled the brakes once we’d parked.
OK. Are there any weights (below MTOW but above MLW) where a normal landing has to be considered a “danger” for the passengers (due to possible gear collapse or so)?
No, we can land at MTOW if circumstances require. However, we will always jettison fuel and get below MLW unless a greater emergency exists (e.g. fire, double hydraulic failure, passenger sickness).
The aircraft records the VS at touchdown so the engineers can check if it’s a heavy landing as well!
What happens to you if you go over the 18hrs?
I, and the company, have to write to the CAA justifying my actions. Using Commander’s Discretion, on the other hand, is a simple form to complete.
