Originally Posted by
Apollo
A quick outline of a recent A/E flight from DFW to SJT. Only the objective facts will be given. Looking forward to responses.
A strong front had just passed through and winds were gusting to 30kts. With the wind helping us down the taxiway, the Capt easily let the ATR get to 40. Landing at SJT (remember the wind is out of the NW and gusty) the crew elected to use the shorter rwy 03 instead of the main rwy 36. We came over the fence very fast and landed with a substantial side load. The aircraft was well off the centerline, the tires where screaming and the stench of burnt rubber was in the cabin. Even the flight attendant was nervously shaking it off.
I waited for the crew to have a chat. I asked why they decided to land with a slight tailwind. The FO said it wasn't a tailwind. The crew clearly didn't want to discuss it but said the wind was 320/20. I asked why rwy 36 wasn't used. The Capt said there wasn't a rwy 36. I said it's the main rwy at SJT. He then said that rwy 36 was closed. I called the tower; they said the rwy was just fine. They hurried off to the waiting van.
Being an ATR FO based at DFW and having flown into SJT numerous times let me answer your curiosities.
First of all, if the wind wasn't within the limits of our ops manual or the aircraft then we would not use it, it's as simple as that.
Secondly, the ATR is notoriously difficult to land, even in the best of conditions. I call it the 'great equalizer'. I've seen people with 5,000 hours in the plane give everybody a good old time during landing. The plane has a mind of its own when it comes to that, and getting a good landing, especially in windy conditions, is not our primary concern - we've been taught to fly it firmly into the ground. You do not want to bounce that plane under those conditions.
Third, the ATR very seldom stays on the centerline during a landing, and we don't tend to fight it. Reasons? 1. Props don't always reverse at the exact same time or to the same pitch or with the same amount of torque. 2. The brakes are fickle and grabby, often causing drift (which is more likely what caused the 'burning rubber smell'. We can stop that plane on a dime with reverse and hardly even touching the brakes, so I doubt anyone was standing on them. Also anti-skid will keep the wheels turning, so you're not going to get any burning rubber smell - other than the tiny bit of rubber that burns off when a wheel going 0 kts suddenly accelerates to 110 kts.
So what you experienced was nothing more than the usual gusty wind performance of an ATR and nothing out of the ordinary. I've seen this happen in the 757, MD80, 737, 777, 747 and about a dozen other aircraft. I defy you to do better, especially with the way the ATR lands.
Unless your practising for a job with the FAA, it would behoove you to drop things like this and forget about them. Its going to get you in trouble and it is inapropiate, extremely unprofessional. Questioning the crews judgement? Calling the tower? You weren't in the cockpit making the decisions or seeing what was going on, just a lowly pax sitting in the back - no frame of reference as to the situation. How do you know how fast the plane 'crossed the fence'? You had no airspeed indicator in front of you. Not to mention if it was gusty we would be carrying extra speed (as usual!).
Had you questioned me about such a thing, you would not have liked my response...and it would have followed with me asking you to leave my aircraft/the ramp/etc. and then having the gate agent put a note in the computer system with you name and the details of the event. If you weren't on the plane/ramp/etc you really wouldn't have liked my response as I have very limited patience for that crap - that's assuming I would have even bothered to recognize your existence. You have no right to question the flight crew over something so ridiculous. I'm surprised you didn't try to call the chief pilot as well. Nobody likes a backseat pilot.