2 ms·

Now I am just flabbergasted. How on earth could they let the 330 take off in that case? And it still seems to me if the 737 didn't execute a missed approach, th

by tus88 7y ago

Now I am just flabbergasted. How on earth could they let the 330 take off in that case? And it still seems to me if the 737 didn't execute a missed approach, there would have been a crash on the runway. That is just as big a deal as the 800m flyby. This story should be a bigger deal than is being made out.

mjg59 7y ago
You don't get the throughput major airports require without vectoring planes to land before other planes have taken off from the same runway. If the plane taking off takes too long you tell the landing plane to go around. This happens daily - I've had planes I'm a passenger on do it twice. It wouldn't have been a big deal at all except for them both having been directed to turn right in conflicting ways.
t0mas88 7y ago
This is entirely standard procedure. In Europe (and ICAO standards) the controller will say to the second plane "number 1, traffic departing ahead" to let them know and then only say "cleared to land" after the other plane has left the runway. In the US this is a bit different, they will say "cleared to land, traffic departing ahead" and are trained to cancel the landing clearance if the other plane isn't off the runway fast enough. In both cases the second plane is made aware of the first, so they're ready (should always be) for a missed approach.
JshWright 7y ago
> And it still seems to me if the 737 didn't execute a missed approach, there would have been a crash on the runway. When you're approaching an intersection controlled by a traffic light, do you feel the same anxiety? There are cars occupying the same bit of road that you're going to be occupying in a few moments, and if you don't stop at the light, there will be a crash. I'm guessing you don't give it a second thought (you may double check that traffic has stopped before proceeding, and pilots do the same thing when they're landing).

by tus88 7y ago

mjg59 7y ago

You don't get the throughput major airports require without vectoring planes to land before other planes have taken off from the same runway. If the plane taking off takes too long you tell the landing plane to go around. This happens daily - I've had planes I'm a passenger on do it twice. It wouldn't have been a big deal at all except for them both having been directed to turn right in conflicting ways.

t0mas88 7y ago

This is entirely standard procedure. In Europe (and ICAO standards) the controller will say to the second plane "number 1, traffic departing ahead" to let them know and then only say "cleared to land" after the other plane has left the runway. In the US this is a bit different, they will say "cleared to land, traffic departing ahead" and are trained to cancel the landing clearance if the other plane isn't off the runway fast enough. In both cases the second plane is made aware of the first, so they're ready (should always be) for a missed approach.

JshWright 7y ago

> And it still seems to me if the 737 didn't execute a missed approach, there would have been a crash on the runway. When you're approaching an intersection controlled by a traffic light, do you feel the same anxiety? There are cars occupying the same bit of road that you're going to be occupying in a few moments, and if you don't stop at the light, there will be a crash. I'm guessing you don't give it a second thought (you may double check that traffic has stopped before proceeding, and pilots do the same thing when they're landing).