“Go around! Go around, NOW!”
I was on my way to a 777 delivery in Seattle, flying via New York from Abu Dhabi. I was on an A340 in first class, and on approach into JFK, I switched onto the nose camera to watch the landing on my TV screen. As we turned into the final approach to land, I became very concerned, which is not normal for me. I noticed that we were going to land a long way down the runway, and at the end of it is the Hudson River! Just before touchdown, we did a go around – this is where the pilot applies full power, brings the flaps up to the take-off position and climbs rapidly! We then circled JFK to land again, this time we touched down at the correct place on the runway, nowhere near the Hudson, and taxied to the terminal to disembark.
While waiting for my luggage and still quite alarmed by what I had witnessed, I sent a message to the chief A340 pilot at Etihad and asked him who was in charge of the New York flight that almost ended up crashing into the Hudson River. Before replying to me, that email was forwarded to the CEO of Etihad, and a full safety enquiry took place. The chief pilot replied, ‘Leave it with me, David, and I’ll get back to you!’
I never did hear the full outcome of the review until 2 years later, when again I found myself in Seattle, doing a delivery. Whilst chatting to several people, I ended up having a conversation with a Captain who by pure coincidence was also onboard that flight. He told me he was the spare crew member and was sitting on the jump seat between the other two pilots on approach to New York. He explained to me what happened in alarming detail –
“The first officer was carrying out the landing, and he had only just qualified. He knew he had messed up the landing, but instead of initiating a go-around, he panicked and said, ‘Captain, you have control! quickly passing control of the aircraft over to him. The captain had only just been promoted from first officer and he also panicked and did nothing! From my position in the jump seat, I stated very clearly, “Go around! Go around, NOW!”
The captain did just that, and the plane roared back up into the New York skyline to complete a much smoother and safer landing. If he hadn’t done this, the plane would have overshot the runway and would easily be about 60ft into the Hudson River in the middle of winter. I dread to think of the outcome if that had been the case!
I was informed that the first officer on that New York flight had been removed from the company entirely, and the newly promoted captain was demoted back to first officer. Pilots are there to ensure the passengers’ safety and need to be able to respond to situations quickly and clearly!
An example of this was on a 777-customer demonstration flight I was part of. I was sitting on the flight deck, and as part of the flight profile, we had to do a ‘touch and go’ at the Boeing Factory at Everett, Seattle. This is where we land, and as soon as the wheels touch the ground, we immediately lower spoilers, raise flaps, and apply full power to go again. As we were climbing out, the TCAS system suddenly rang out in the cockpit and barked the orders ‘CLIMB, CLIMB!’ Without a second of hesitation, the pilot climbed the aircraft from 5 degrees nose up to 15 degrees. As he did, we all saw a small, 4-seater prop plane fly right underneath the nose of our aircraft! If the captain had not done exactly as the system said, that small plane would have been completely obliterated!
This demonstrates what gifted pilots can do and the importance of rigorous checks on training and safety equipment. The TCAS system stands for Traffic Collision Avoidance System, and its sole purpose is to warn pilots of an imminent head on collision and give the appropriate action that needs to be taken to avoid it. Pilots are trained to take the system very seriously, doing exactly what it says, when it says it. Again, highlighting the importance of man and machine working in harmony! Even though we avoided the head-on collision, the turbulence that small aircraft must have endured as we roared overhead must have been biblical! We checked immediately with air traffic control and were eventually assured that the aircraft and all onboard were okay. But I wouldn’t blame anyone if they needed to change their trousers afterwards!
The flight to New York was saved by the quick thinking of the pilot in the jumpseat and then by the actions of the captain flying. My input had nothing to do with the outcome. It is a shame what happened to the first officer and captain, but when it comes to safety in this industry, I have a zero tolerance policy, and this policy is iron-clad on every project I am involved in. If you would like to know more or wish to book our services, then please get in touch via our contact page.
