Aborted Landing

[Mweinstein]

Hello all,

I just completed an MSP-DCA flight. Everything was perfectly fine , except for some light-moderate chop coming out of MSP, but as we were about to land in DC, we quickly pulled up (probably got as close as 200 feet to the runway). 10 minutes later, the pilot quickly mumbled something about the landing gear, and we floated along for another 10 minutes until the pilot said he conferred with the mechanic and that we were going to give it another go. We slowly descended into DCA, all the while taking some of the craziest approach angles i've seen into DCA, and we landed safely. The pilot did not explain what happened, so I am wondering if any of you have a clue. I suspect a landing gear malfunction, but it did not seem perilous as we came down again

[tb_neg]

MSP-DCA has a lot of Airbus craft flying that route. Where you on an Airbus? They have had some landing gear problems in the past, most notable of them the JetBlue landing.

[Mweinstein]

yep, it was an airbus A319. i flew a boeing 757-200 out msp on friday, but for the most part, the A319 and A320 seem to be the most common planes for that route.

do you just think that it was something minor like the indicator like going off? i'd think that if it was a major problem, they would've told us it was an emergency landing

[tb_neg]

I don't know about you, but I like the Boeing 757 much better.

It was likely something minor, like a light, but you never know.

One time on a Northwest flight, the lights went out (DC-9 craft) and the flight attendants had to use flashlights to see in the cabin. The captain came on and said we were too far to turn around, and they were pretty quiet after that (I think it was into DCA or IAD).

I wrote to NWA and they said, you were safe, blah blah blah, and the landing seemed ordinary enough, and they turned the lights back on after we landed.

I was thinking though, well, as long as the engines are still on, that's ok with me.

[alandubo]

Not sure if this is helpful, but DCA has a ton of aborted landings. I have had that experience before as have all of my friends who live there. The runway is VERY short, and if they don't time it perfectly, they go around. As for the crazy approach, we once had a Delta pilot explain that - they call it S-turns. If they are coming in too fast and the plane taking off in front of them hasn't left yet, they do S-turns (zig zags) to 'waste' time before landing. It is really weird because you feel like you're all over the place.

[tb_neg]

It is helpful, although I've flown into DCA a few times and I've never had anything weird, but that runway is short, and ends in the water.

[pinworm]

I sometimes wonder if they lie. A pilot friend once told me that in cases of missed approach they will ALWAYS inform tower and the passengers that the cause was the result of some external condition IF the real reason was simply a sloppy approach on the pilot's part and they needed a do-over. He said this was because pilots are reluctant to admit their own errors. Each missed approach goes into their file..so they claim there was a truck on the runway or a mysterious light on in the cockpit that resolved itself, or as he claimed most often a sudden and mysterious crosswind...it's unverifiable! No pilot is going to get on the pa or radio and say "well, I just lined it up badly and I didn't feel like using the approach switch on the autopilot!". This is more common when the pilots get a non-insturment visual approach at smaller airports.

On the other hand, claiming a gear problem to the passengers is NOT something most pilots would lie to the passengers about because it would make them more nervous, so it was probably true.

[orezzoli]

Yes, it was an airbus A319. i flew a boeing 767 to miami FL, but the A319 and A320 seem to be the most common planes for that route, but nothing has been so far.

[astanard]

This happened to me at the Philly airport. The flight attendants was facing me and greatly entertained by my facial expressions and language, openly laughing. Then the pilot came on, making a joke about American Airlines let2ing their planes lounge on the runway. For a fearful flyer it wasn't too bad, a comical crew always helps. Plus Patti LaBelle was a few rows in front of me so I figured nothing that bad could happen

[DavidFlynn]

This is in response to the main thread. That sounds like a pretty rough incident! I've had a similar situation happen to me before, not fun at all.....