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I have flown to and from the Birmingham airport numerous times, not having been aware (as apparently others also were not) of this possible hazard, now recognized by a major air carrier:

 

"BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The nation's largest regional passenger airline told pilots to avoid landing on the runway where a UPS cargo jet crashed in Birmingham because an internal review following the accident concluded planes come "dangerously close" to nearby hills if even a few feet too low."

 

The next time I fly into Birmingham, should I go up front from my cheap seat, bang on the cockpit door, and loudly insist that the pilot use only the long runway?

 

http://news.yahoo.com/airline-...crash-154253115.html

I yam what I yam and that's all I yam--but it is enough!

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When I lived in Atlanta, they always called B'ham the Atlanta West Airport.  We could fly out of there cheaply on Southwest Airlines.  Of course, Southwest is now operating out of ATL.

 

The UPS plane wreck was a product of pilot error and possibly exhaustion, and they were doing a visual approach--without instruments.  The runway is a backup to Birmingham's very long one main runway that commercial traffic uses all the time.  In other words, go Birmingham if the flight suits your needs and price.

 

I too prefer Nashville's airport when flying most places due to the lowest prices in the region.  Huntsville is fine going to Baltimore, Houston, Chicago, Charlotte and a few places.

 

When flying overseas, I'll often drive over to Atlanta to catch non-stops.

Originally Posted by Chuck Farley:

I've flown a good bit but I've never been to the Birmingham airport.  Is there a destination/connecting flight reason to use bham and not Huntsville?   If I had the option of bham or Nashville I'd definitely choose Nashville.  #1 reason, it's not Birmingham. 

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I have used both Nashville and Huntsville to book flights on both, since both are served by the best air carrier in the nation, Southwest Airlines.  When flying south, I usually use B'ham.  When flying north, I usually book from Nashville.  For points west,  it depends on schedules.

 

Originally Posted by Bestworking:

The next time I fly into Birmingham, should I go up front from my cheap seat, bang on the cockpit door, and loudly insist that the pilot use only the long runway?

 

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Oh yes!! Please, please do!! Show them who they're messing with!!

___

Thanks for the endorsement of my proposal.  If this scenario should actually occur and should I be detained and charged with any offense, may I engage you as a co-conspirator or character witness?

Last edited by Contendah
Originally Posted by dogsoldier0513:

The planes go almost vertical on take-off and descend almost straight down in landing.  The runway is also the ROUGHEST I have ever experienced.

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The runway at the Roanoke, Virginia is the scariest you will ever encounter.  It is of minimal length and the pilot downs flaps and reverses engines about the time he hits pavement, which throws passengers forward wondering what is happening.  When asked about that procedure, one flight attendant said, "That's just our pilot; we call him "Wild Bill". "Wild Bill!"  Do you want to entrust your life to a pilot known by his crew as "Wild Bill"?.

Originally Posted by Contendah:
Originally Posted by dogsoldier0513:

The planes go almost vertical on take-off and descend almost straight down in landing.  The runway is also the ROUGHEST I have ever experienced.

____

The runway at the Roanoke, Virginia is the scariest you will ever encounter.  It is of minimal length and the pilot downs flaps and reverses engines about the time he hits pavement, which throws passengers forward wondering what is happening.  When asked about that procedure, one flight attendant said, "That's just our pilot; we call him "Wild Bill". "Wild Bill!"  Do you want to entrust your life to a pilot known by his crew as "Wild Bill"?.

______________________________
Beats the heck out of "Kamikaze Joe."

Originally Posted by Contendah:
Originally Posted by Bestworking:

The next time I fly into Birmingham, should I go up front from my cheap seat, bang on the cockpit door, and loudly insist that the pilot use only the long runway?

 

----------------------

Oh yes!! Please, please do!! Show them who they're messing with!!

___

Thanks for the endorsement of my proposal.  If this scenario should actually occur and should I be detained and charged with any offense, may I engage you as a co-conspirator or character witness?

__________________________________
Condie,

 

There are numerous people you may call as a witness who will definitely  agree that you are a character.  

Originally Posted by direstraits:
Originally Posted by Contendah:
Originally Posted by Bestworking:

The next time I fly into Birmingham, should I go up front from my cheap seat, bang on the cockpit door, and loudly insist that the pilot use only the long runway?

 

----------------------

Oh yes!! Please, please do!! Show them who they're messing with!!

___

Thanks for the endorsement of my proposal.  If this scenario should actually occur and should I be detained and charged with any offense, may I engage you as a co-conspirator or character witness?

__________________________________
Condie,

 

There are numerous people you may call as a witness who will definitely  agree that you are a character.  

___

Yes indeed--some of whom are members of my own family!

Contendah sez "The runway at the Roanoke, Virginia is the scariest you will ever encounter.  It is of minimal length and the pilot downs flaps and reverses engines about the time he hits pavement, which throws passengers forward wondering what is happening."

 

Just a point of contention, because I know that you always want to know when you are not right about your subject.  The pilot likely is "deploying his spoilers" on the wing and reversing his engine thrust.  The engines themselves do not reverse.  Spoilers actually disrupt the airflow over the wing causing the plane to want to stick to the ground.  Flaps are typically raised, especially in most smaller aircraft, since they actually create lift and will detract from the braking process. Flaps are located at the rear of the wing and you will see them go down in the initial phase of landing.  Spoilers come out when the aircraft starts to slow down and needs to lose altiude and very rarely do they stay out long.  They are usually "armed" for touchdown in the larger planes and come out as part of the braking cycle.

If you want a real "scary" landing you should fly into the capital of Honduras, Tecusacapa, which is located up on a hill in the middle of town.  It is like landing on a carrier, and if the brakes don't work, you will be going downtown whether you wanted to or not.

You guys need to put on your man panties! :-) BHM not really challanging try Bogata if you want to have a challange.  BTW banging on the cockpit door is a good way to get shot in todays enviroment.  The A300 min runway for dispatch is 5700 ft but inflght you reduce that if needed she will stop!  Mistakes were made by ATC, company and crew at BHM sad thing all around.  I am sitting in southern Caribbean trying to decide how to quickly retire and stay!
Originally Posted by teyates:

Contendah sez "The runway at the Roanoke, Virginia is the scariest you will ever encounter.  It is of minimal length and the pilot downs flaps and reverses engines about the time he hits pavement, which throws passengers forward wondering what is happening."

 

Just a point of contention, because I know that you always want to know when you are not right about your subject.  The pilot likely is "deploying his spoilers" on the wing and reversing his engine thrust.  The engines themselves do not reverse.  Spoilers actually disrupt the airflow over the wing causing the plane to want to stick to the ground.  Flaps are typically raised, especially in most smaller aircraft, since they actually create lift and will detract from the braking process. Flaps are located at the rear of the wing and you will see them go down in the initial phase of landing.  Spoilers come out when the aircraft starts to slow down and needs to lose altiude and very rarely do they stay out long.  They are usually "armed" for touchdown in the larger planes and come out as part of the braking cycle.

If you want a real "scary" landing you should fly into the capital of Honduras, Tecusacapa, which is located up on a hill in the middle of town.  It is like landing on a carrier, and if the brakes don't work, you will be going downtown whether you wanted to or not.

Spoilers usually deploy at main gear spin up and max reverse thrust is normal both are SOP.  What he probably did was get on the brakes right after touchdown which you usually do not do unless runway distance is short or you are trying to make a turn off.   Normally you max reverse to about 90kts then stow the reversers and transition to wheel braking unless the runway distance is short.

Thanks for the wonky technical stuff there, HIFlyer, and I am not being snide here--I like wonky technical stuff. BTW, I didn't  mean to imply that the pilot actually reversed his engines, per se, in the sense of physically turning them around. Whatever he does coming into that airport, "Wild Bill" gives his passengers--especially the first-time ones--something of a scary thrill.

Originally Posted by Contendah:

Thanks for the wonky technical stuff there, HIFlyer, and I am not being snide here--I like wonky technical stuff. BTW, I didn't  mean to imply that the pilot actually reversed his engines, per se, in the sense of physically turning them around. Whatever he does coming into that airport, "Wild Bill" gives his passengers--especially the first-time ones--something of a scary thrill.

I knew that I was pointing out max reverse and spoilers are normal for all landings and do not result in what you experienced.    I was guessing it was that the pilot got on the brakes early and pretty heavy footed also most likely due to the short runway or trying to make a early turn off.

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