Yes, indeed. Monday morning.

However, I've intentionally made an obtuse, yet not inconceivable, example. I also made more probable scenarios.... that HAVE ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

Diverting to a nearby airport, or which there are many, with normal ops would have been the prudent move, IMHO.

 

You seem to discount that as being a real possibility?

I'm looking more at it form this point of view. Early morning, flip the switch, no response, keep calling periodically, try guard, try ground (as buz mentioned that was a mute* point), go back to approach and call them, check your sanity, look for light gun signals, flash your lights, look around at the field... then you've got a choice to make whether to land or go-around.

Seems to me, the decision that leads to the least amount of questioning with the Bob's at the mahogany table would be the go-around. And the reason it leads to the least amount of questioning is because its naturally safer... well most of the time.



The thing is, you want verification and if you can't get it then I opt for the path of least resistance. But that's just my opinion of a generic situation of trying to land early morning in DCA with no comm and no signals from tower.

And had tower been asleep, a flat go-around and early turn up the river in an 88 would've woken them up.

*pun time

 

The two flights that landed treated the airport as uncontrolled and self announced. In this scenario would you announce on the TWR or UNICOM freqs? Or both?

I'm guessing it was on the TWR freq so the guys behind me would know. Of course by that time Potomac APP knew something was up.

Do you think aircraft 1 relayed any info to aircraft 2?

 

So, I'll be able to look up when this field is Class E, correct?

 

I'm not sure what you're trying to say.

TWR-119.1, UNICOM-122.95

 

I'm with buzz, its Washington National lots of close airports.

 

From the articles/videos I've seen, it seems that the first aircraft (AA, I guess) executed a go-around once they couldn't get a hold of twr and contacted potomac app to inquire what the problem was. After app couldn't reach the tower, the app controller (this is what i read, so don't shoot the messenger) declared the field uncontrolled and clear the aircraft for the approach. I can only assume (my opinion) that the crew then made radio calls on the tower freq and landed. The second (UA flight) did the same. Lets not get on the crews right away fro the decisions that were made quite yet. I'm sure more details will be released in the coming days.

Here's a video from CBS News

 

Interesting. I think I'd done the same as AA and gone around and wouldve totally enjoyed being the next guy in "Regan traffic... MD-88... Regan traffic." Man that would have been a blast.

 

Not sure what this means, either. If the field is NOTAM'd or published for a period of class E, that information is readily available.

Are you suggesting that a published UNICOM freq has something to do with this? You wouldn't make position reports on UNICOM anyway.

 

Maybe it's just me, maybe I've landed at too many airports without controllers, but I would have landed. I understand some of the legal issues, it was not Class G airspace, Potomac doesn't have the authority to clear the flights to land, but somehow landing seems like a reasonable answer and, thankfully, it worked out.

GF