Midway..Always a rough landing!

[tahoxs3]

Hi Capt. Hutch, I first wanted to tell you Thank You, for having the patience and compassion for all of us scardy cats. I wish more pilots and F/A would care more about us, as this is not a fear that we WANT to have or can just get over. I have a few questions for you.

I think if the Airlines gave more attention to the people who are scared to fly, and helped them get over it, they would see an increase in travelers. Just my 2 cents. Ok, Now to my questions..

I Live in the Chicago land area and fly mostly out of Midway. It seems everytime I fly back in, we come down hard and fast and brake so hard that I've put my hand on the seat in front to brace. A couple of times I thought we were going through the fence onto Central avenue. Is this because of the runway being short?

When You strap in to the seat and prepare yourself for take off, Do YOU ever think of crashing? I know that it's a bizarre question, but I just wanted to know if it's something you ever think about.
Also, I've seen pilots doing a walk about the outside of the aircraft, before departure,and it seems like they aren't inspecting that closely. What are you all looking for, and can you really spot a problem without REALLY looking at it?
Thanks in advance Capt.

[tusphotog]

I Live in the Chicago land area and fly mostly out of Midway. It seems everytime I fly back in, we come down hard and fast and brake so hard that I've put my hand on the seat in front to brace. A couple of times I thought we were going through the fence onto Central avenue. Is this because of the runway being short?

You nailed it. MDW is "hemmed in" by Cicero and Central (and two other numbered streets I can't remember) with two short runways. I experienced something similar last week when I landed in Burbank (another "hemmed in" airport with short runways and mountains!). We touched down softly but the guys up front hit the brakes HARD once we were down. I love MDW: Potbelly's sandwiches in the food court are a traveler's best friend!

As for the walk around, I've always understood they're looking for anything missing (like an engine) and for any leaks etc. Hutch, of course, will explain in greater detail what they're looking for.

[CAflyer]

Turns out both Midway and Burbank are the two airports where a Southwest plane has crashed through a fence into a roadway.

Here are two photos:

http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/flying/assets/fast_crash.jpg

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/051209/051209_southwest_hmed_7a.h2.jpg

[Barb-SAN]

As for the walk around, I've always understood they're looking for anything missing (like an engine) Or anything extra, like a stowaway in the wheel well... http://www.slate.com/id/2093341/

[Captain Hutch]

Dear Tahoxs3,

You have asked excellent questions. The answer to your first question about hard landings and hard braking after touchdown is most of the time due to short runways. For a B737, runway lengths of 5000' (usually a minimum length) to less than 7,000 is considered short. At these lengths, I, and most pilots I know make it a point to land exactly at a point about 1,000 feet from the approach end of the runway. We don't strive for a nice smooth landing, or a "grease job"--we just want to get the airplane on the ground so we can begin slowing down. We of course would like to touchdown smoothly, but a firm touchdown is fully appropriate and well within the safe limits of the aircraft. 7,000' is better (length of runways at La Guardia), but still slightly uncomfortable for my tastes, although I land at Washington National Airport 3 or 4 times a week and the long runway there is about 6,900'. After about 27 years of practice at DCA, I'd say about half my landings are smooth with a few firm ones thrown in here and there. Anything 8,000' or more is fine and I don't mind using a few extra feet in the air to get the wheels to "kiss" the "asphalt". Of course, many other factors affect landing length which I don't include here but which have been covered in other threads.

Concerning your question of thinking about crashing after takeoff: EVERY time I take off I think about where I can put the ship down if I have to land right away, with or without power--so I don't think about crashing per se. At DCA, if the aircraft can't hold altitude, my preference is landing in the river as long as you can miss the bridges. The USAirways airbus landing in the Hudson did not have enough power to hold altitude, so in my opinion the Captain made the correct decision to land in the river.

And third, your question about the walkaround ("preflight"): although it may look like to the casual observer that the walkaround is just a casual stroll, there are very specific items that the pilot is looking for besides just the general condition of the aircraft. Like other aspects of aviation, experience pays big dividends in spotting potential problems before the aircraft ever leaves the gate. However, the pilot must actually look at the area to find the defect--if he is just gazing he will miss it. I think Tusphotog already mentioned missing parts and leaks; other specific items are damaged pitot tubes, angle of attack indicators, blocked static ports, dents in the aircraft skin, damaged tires, remove-before-flight pins that aren't, clear viewing ports (for manually extended landing gear), bent or damaged compressor blades, burned out bulbs in exterior lighting, proper gage pressures (in the wheel well), missing static discharge vanes, tail scrapes (the last guy landing may have slightly scraped the bottom of the aircraft tail and not realized it), missing or improperly latched panels, birds' nests, and more that I can't think of right now.

Once again thanks for asking questions that are of value to everyone.

Hutch

[tahoxs3]

Thank You Captain Hutch for answering my questions. I hope when March 12th(I'm flying to Nashville) comes around, I can replay your response in my head. I'm so happy that you answered my question about your thoughts on crashing. If you had told me that you never thought about it, I think I would have thrown in the towel on flying, as I suspect it is a natural thought.
As I type this, I find my hands are getting clammy and it's a bit harder to draw in a good breath, so, obviously I still have a lot of work to prepare myself for this flight. Knowing that most pilots fly like they are on a Sunday drive, is there anything you can tell me to calm my nerves? Hell, will You just come and hold my hand?:sigh:

[tahoxs3]

Turns out both Midway and Burbank are the two airports where a Southwest plane has crashed through a fence into a roadway.

Here are two photos:

http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/flying/assets/fast_crash.jpg

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/051209/051209_southwest_hmed_7a.h2.jpg
I remember this happening a few years back b/c a little boy was killed. I always thought it just a matter of time before this would happen.

[Captain Hutch]

Dear Tahoxs3,

One of the very basics taught from the moment a potential pilot learns to fly is to think about where to set the airplane down if the engine quits right after takeoff, so I think you can be assured that most pilots spend a lot of time thinking about this possibility.

As far as calming your nerves, fortunately the other moderators on this website are very skilled at providing techniques for that. So perhaps you can direct specific questions to one of them. I can't tell you how much I have learned about the traveling public since joining this website, which has helped me think even more about passengers' needs.

Good luck with your trip to Nashville on March 12th. Be sure to give us a report when you get back.

Hutch :tiphat: