Flight Safety Digest Flight Safety Foundation Vol. 23 no. 8 August 2004 For Everyone Concerned With the Safety of Flight www.flightsafety.org OFFiCErS And STAFF Chairman, Board of Governors Hon. Carl W. Vogt
in This issue President and CEO Stuart Matthews Executive Vice President robert H. Vandel Treasurer James S. Waugh Jr.
Stabilized Approach and Flare AdMiniSTrATiVE
Are Keys to Avoiding Hard Landings Manager, Support Services Linda Crowley Horger
Flight crews primarily use their judgment to identify and report FinAnCiAL hard landings, but recorded flight data also might be useful to gauge the severity of the impact before a conditional
Director of Finance
maintenance inspection is performed. The accident record and Administration Crystal n. Phillips
shows that hard landings often involve substantial damage Accountant Millicent Wheeler
and sometimes result in fatalities. 1 MEMbErSHiP
Director, Membership
Number of Canadian Aircraft Involved in and Development Ann Hill
Accidents in 2003 Declines from Membership Services
Coordinator Ahlam Wahdan Five-year Average PubLiCATiOnS The number of Canadian airplanes involved in accidents was
higher in 2003 than in 2002, and the number of helicopters
Director of Publications roger rozelle
involved in accidents was lower. Senior Editor Mark Lacagnina Senior Editor Wayne rosenkrans
Leadership Is Essential to Senior Editor Linda Werfelman
“Winning the Risk Game” Associate Editor rick darby Web and Print
Leaders often make the difference in the outcome — if they Production Coordinator Karen K. Ehrlich
understand the rules of the risk-management game, suggests
Production Designer Ann L. Mullikin
the author of How Safe Is Safe Enough?
Production Specialist Susan d. reed 30
Librarian, Jerry Lederer Aviation Safety Library Patricia Setze 36
TECHniCAL Aircraft Collide in Gate Area Director of Technical Programs James M. burin The flight crew of one of the Airbus A320s said that ground Technical Programs Specialist Joanne Anderson personnel had motioned to them to indicate the wing tip clearance distance. One ground crewmember, however, said Managing Director of Internal Evaluation Programs Louis A. Sorrentino iii that he had given the crew “the hold sign.”
Q-Star Program Administrator robert Feeler Manager, Data Systems and Analysis robert dodd, Ph.d.
Manager of Aviation Safety Audits darol V. Holsman
Founder Jerome Lederer 1902–2004
Flight Safety Foundation is an international membership organization dedicated to the continuous improvement of aviation safety. Nonprofit and independent, the Foundation was launched officially in 1947 in response to the aviation industry’s need for a neutral clearinghouse to disseminate objective safety information, and for a credible and knowl-edgeable body that would identify threats to safety, analyze the problems and recommend practical solutions to them. Since its beginning, the Foundation has acted in the public interest to produce positive influence on aviation safety. Today, the Foundation provides leadership to more than 910 member organizations in more than 142 countries. Cover photo: . Copyright 2004 Getty images inc.
Stabilized Approach and Flare Are Keys to Avoiding Hard Landings Flight crews primarily use their judgment to identify and report hard landings, but recorded flight data also might be useful to gauge the severity of the impact before a conditional maintenance inspection is performed. The accident record shows that hard landings often involve substantial damage and sometimes result in fatalities. — FSF Editorial StaFF
D ata show that, as an accident type, Hard landings typically did not result in fatalities. hard landings have accounted for the The data for 1993 through 2002 show that 192 highest number of accidents world-people were killed in all types of landing accidents; wide among Western-built large the leading killers were CFIT and loss of control commercial jet airplanes. Of 385 total accidents in flight, each of which claimed more than 2,000 from 1993 through 2002, 54 were hard-landing lives during the period. accidents (table 1, page 2).1 of the 70 hard-landing accidents examined for this Accidents resulting from hard landings surpassed article, three involved fatalities and serious inju-the number of accidents involving runway over-ries; another accident involved serious injuries but runs on landing (52), excursions off the sides of no fatalities (see “Turbojet Airplane Hard-landing runways on landing (42), landing gear failures accidents and incidents, 1996–2002,” page 17).3 during landing and takeoff (38) and controlled Sixty-six accidents involved minor injuries and/ flight into terrain (CFit; 33).2 or no injuries. |