Message text written by Fred Fillinger
>I was a passenger
on an MD-80 whose port side engine exploded during rotation. The
single-engine ILS, at night, 600 and 3/4 in sleet and fog, following
that failure was outstanding. How smooth the guy's landing were, or
whether he could even spell tailwheel, is not part of my definition!<
I think we are now getting well away from objective assessment. To assess
the achievements of a pilot from the passenger seat of an airliner is not
even vaguely creditable. Sure having a major engine failure during rotation
is a challenging situation and so is landing with a lowish cloudbase and
1200m vis in sleet on one engine. However for all you knew the pilot may
have managed the situation very badly and the smooth touchdown was
fortuitous. I would not want to have that event happen to me for real but
airline pilots practice such failures twice a year in the simulator.
Nigel Charles
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