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Airbus A380 hard landing, or was it?
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(Photo: P. Loos) An A380 on final approach.
The famed Airbus A380, the world's largest airliner, arrived at Oshkosh Tuesday and started a whirl-wind of speculation. The commotion was centered around what was obviously a firm landing by the A380 crew: complete with wing flex and a little wobble down the runway that started a heated debate among aviators.
The matter was agitated when AVWeb released a video of Dan Gryder, a Boeing 777 pilot, who analyzes the landing. As slow motion video of the landing plays (video located lower on this page), Dan harshly critiques the firm impact and very visible wing flex and then points out how the plane almost weathervanes as the pilot tries to bring it to a stop.
I don't usually weigh in on these things, in fact, I don't normally write in first person; this time, as far as opinion, is no different. I think you'll find I, much like a politician being interviewed live, won't give a firm opinion one way or the other. Either way, the pilot did an excellent job coaxing the enormous craft down and onto a relatively short runway in order to turn off at his assigned taxiway.
Many of the comments' harsh words in various forums are aimed at the fact that Dan is a Boeing 777 pilot and would naturally be biased towards the Airbus. While pilots do tend to be very loyal to their preferred manufacturer, I also believe Dan is a professional and everything he said was true: maybe over-dramatized, but true. Opposers of his harsh view say the wings are meant to flex and that the pilot planted the plane firmly as part of his short-field landing technique. After reading through several forums, I've come to the conclusion that most commenters can be categorized into one of four camps:
Camp A: It was a hard landing that nearly tore off the wings and ended in a fire ball. The pilot dropped it out of the sky like a rock; I felt the earth shake from my house.
Camp B: It was a hard landing, but a safe one; no harm, no foul. The pilot did his best in the conditions he was challenged with.
Camp C: It was a normal short-field landing with a firm touchdown as part of the technique. The wings are meant to flex and the pilot did exactly what any pilot would have done in the conditions.
Camp D: AirBus signs my checks and, therefore, the landing was perfect. The pilot is worthy of an honor and the plane proved to be the perfect airliner we hoped it would be.
Each camp had their "uncles who work for" and "friend that saw it" statements to support their positions along with a few "because I've flown them" commenters. As to what camp I belong to, it's hard to say. While I don't believe the landing was as soft as it could have been, I also recall a few crosswind landings where I've planted the wheels firmly. I've also never flown an A380; maybe the wings are meant to flex like that or, perhaps, they're not and were damaged.
In the end, the Airbus A380 was a wonderful attraction at AirVenture '09. Thousands got to see the world's largest airliner up close and personal, whatever their view on the landing was.
Discussion Topic: What Camp do you belong to? Do you have your own unique view? Can you convince me of what camp I should adhere to? (In the Comments section below)
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