Let cool heads prevail.
Let us begin with the first line of the 'in Command' mantra; (paraphrased); in short 'get the bloody aircraft on the deck, in one piece as soon as practicable'. There are more elegant ways of expressing that; but when the whatsit hits the windmill and there are no trump cards left in the deck – you just do what it needful, save your own life; and, by default, the lives of all inboard and the ship...
The use of an 'emergency alternate' is not as dramatic as it seems at first encounter; it will be scripted somewhere within the bowels of 'the book' along with 'command discretion' - . This flight would have had a constant flow of data over the 14 hours (+/-) duration: they would know in advance the state of play at Mascot, the storm would have been monitored on radar and (probably) any 'reports' from other aircraft; lots of information available on which to formulate a plan. The critical element would be the fuel on board; the calculation of fuel required. This would involve the 'burn' from top of descent; to a missed approach; this subtracted from the total available. This is what would have been planned for, should the worst case scenario eventuate.
Skilled, experienced crew; thunderstorm activity around the destination not an unusual situation – trained for and always carefully managed. The Sydney storm was a brute; the aircraft serviceable and a qualified crew operating; they gave it the one shot they had left in the tanks – missed out and diverted to the nearest aerodrome where a landing could be assured i.e. Williamstown. Not a preferred option; however, despite the lack of facilities for the passengers – given the alternatives – I'd say 'well done' that crew. Sure passengers tired, hungry and upset; but alive to enjoy the rest of their days. Such is life in the worst case scenario.
There is a rumour floating about (unsubstantiated) that the passengers could have been on the deck a bit earlier had the ATC been more situationally aware and expedited clearance as requested and required. I wonder how close the Skipper came to telling them to 'sod off' or cope with a Mayday. Had the Skipper got cranky and declared an emergency due to ATC being 'difficult' that would become a difficult question for ASA to answer.
Nicely done that crew; tough day at the office and well worth a couple of hard earned drinks. Cheers.
Toot – toot.
Let us begin with the first line of the 'in Command' mantra; (paraphrased); in short 'get the bloody aircraft on the deck, in one piece as soon as practicable'. There are more elegant ways of expressing that; but when the whatsit hits the windmill and there are no trump cards left in the deck – you just do what it needful, save your own life; and, by default, the lives of all inboard and the ship...
The use of an 'emergency alternate' is not as dramatic as it seems at first encounter; it will be scripted somewhere within the bowels of 'the book' along with 'command discretion' - . This flight would have had a constant flow of data over the 14 hours (+/-) duration: they would know in advance the state of play at Mascot, the storm would have been monitored on radar and (probably) any 'reports' from other aircraft; lots of information available on which to formulate a plan. The critical element would be the fuel on board; the calculation of fuel required. This would involve the 'burn' from top of descent; to a missed approach; this subtracted from the total available. This is what would have been planned for, should the worst case scenario eventuate.
Skilled, experienced crew; thunderstorm activity around the destination not an unusual situation – trained for and always carefully managed. The Sydney storm was a brute; the aircraft serviceable and a qualified crew operating; they gave it the one shot they had left in the tanks – missed out and diverted to the nearest aerodrome where a landing could be assured i.e. Williamstown. Not a preferred option; however, despite the lack of facilities for the passengers – given the alternatives – I'd say 'well done' that crew. Sure passengers tired, hungry and upset; but alive to enjoy the rest of their days. Such is life in the worst case scenario.
There is a rumour floating about (unsubstantiated) that the passengers could have been on the deck a bit earlier had the ATC been more situationally aware and expedited clearance as requested and required. I wonder how close the Skipper came to telling them to 'sod off' or cope with a Mayday. Had the Skipper got cranky and declared an emergency due to ATC being 'difficult' that would become a difficult question for ASA to answer.
Nicely done that crew; tough day at the office and well worth a couple of hard earned drinks. Cheers.
Toot – toot.