Why some flights are cheap

[expat]

The problem was that the pilot wasn't qualified to land in foggy weather. Which is a bit like passing your driving test but not knowing how to get out of a packed Ikea car park on a Xmas Eve.

Which in fact you don't, when you have just passed your test.

[expat]

Pilots should be taught to land a plane before being taught to take off. After all, once you've taken off you're committed to do a landing sooner or later.

I'm sure that various government agencies would be interested in any pilot who learned to fly but not to land.....

[TimberWolf]

Landing is dead easy. It's being able to walk away from a landing that is the tricky bit...

If it's a runway landing, walking away would probably be easier accomplished on roller-skates.

[TimberWolf]

I'm sure that various government agencies would be interested in any pilot who learned to fly but not to land.....

Ditto for the Japanese government circa 1940.

[expat]

Landing is dead easy. It's being able to walk away from a landing that is the tricky bit...

That's the definition of a landing, as opposed to a crash.

[Durbs]

Isn't it just a case of pressing the big 'Land' button - thought these things could do it all themselves.

[TimberWolf]

Isn't it just a case of pressing the big 'Land' button - thought these things could do it all themselves.

According to a documentary I once saw (called Airplane! I believe), you just inflate the autopilot.

[hyperD]

It's a non-story sadly, more to do with licencing and legalities than some maverick scamming a ride on a faster jet.

It's all down to visibility and landing specifications in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) using the aircraft's autopilot for the airport's Instrument Landing System (ILS).

Airport ILS systems are broken down into several categories of precision, visibility and decision heights.

Roughly Cat I (vis 550m and above), Cat II (vis 350m) and Cat III (vis 200m).

Cat III is further subdivided into various viz limits until Cat III C which allows suitably equipped aircraft to autoland.

It looks like the pilot was fairly new on type and had not finished his qualifying 3 practice approaches in the Bombadier 400 or whatever the training requires for a low viz approach and landing for Cat II/III at Paris CDG (Charle de Gaulle).

It's nothing to do with his actual ability to fly the aircraft, just the legality of undertaking that type of precision instrument approach landing.

[SantaClaus]

According to a documentary I once saw (called Airplane! I believe), you just inflate the autopilot.

Love that film!

You mean thats not how its done?

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Isn't it just a case of pressing the big 'Land' button - thought these things could do it all themselves.

It's a non-story sadly, more to do with licencing and legalities than some maverick scamming a ride on a faster jet

The Q400 is a turboprop not a jet and IRRC doesn't have autoland.