Home

Etihad Airways scolds own pilots after spectacular A380 plane landing at Heathrow Airport

Headshot of Geoffrey Thomas
Geoffrey ThomasThe West Australian
The Etihad plane landing.
Camera IconThe Etihad plane landing. Credit: Supplied

Etihad Airways has scolded its hero A380 pilots for the spectacular landing at Heathrow during storm Dennis on February 16.

The video, posted to YouTube, has been seen more than 2.5 million times and broadcast by television stations across the globe.

But the airline’s manager of flight crew training has sent a memo to all pilots, obtained by AirlineRatings.com, saying the landing was not what the airline wanted to see.

“The official view from the Training Department is a simple one — THIS IS NOT WHAT WE WANT TO SEE. There is a time to give an approach away in the interest of safety,” the memo said.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

“If you see such a thing in the sim (simulator) it would be a grade of 1 (out of 10)....”

Where a pilot faces a crosswind landing they need to point the aircraft in the direction of the wind while maintaining a straight course towards the runway.

This is called crabbing or yawing.

In strong crosswinds, the pilot may also dip the wing — sideslip — into the direction of the wind.

Just before touchdown, pilots apply rudder to bring the plane — and its undercarriage — back so it is aligned straight down the centreline of the runway.

This takes great skill and the results — if not done properly — are often quite spectacular as shown in the video of the Etihad A380, where the pilot did not straighten up before touching down.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails