← Back to Squawk list
  • 46

A Southwest Airlines Landing Was So Hard It Fractured A Flight Attendant's Spine

Submitted
 
The short runway at SNA means crew aim for less "floating" of the aircraft - this time it resulted in a flight attendant being evacuated by paramedics (simpleflying.com) More...

James T
News junkieTrusted friendHonor RollAmateur PhotographerPromoter

Sort type: [Top] [Newest]


thiagocsf
thiagocsf 2
If the old adage* is true, this was not a good landing - at least not for this flight attendant.


* any landing you walk away from is a good landing
Reply ↓•Permalink•Report
CPAIR007
JASON AWID 3
That is not good . Hope the flight attendant recovery is quick .

Reply ↓•Permalink•Report
TimDyck
Tim Dyck 1
I hope she recovers completely. I also hope they look into the ways to improve those jump seats.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Report
AirbusNeoFamily
Mavic 3 Cine 1
Ryanair 2.0 version
Reply ↓•Permalink•Report
usad
usad 9
Ex Navy pilot?
Reply ↓•Permalink•Report
sparkie624
sparkie624 5
I was on a landing so hard one time that I seriously wondered about a/c damage... Was a CRJ-900 flown by MESA... We landed so hard it did hurt my back... I know that plane like the back of my hand. Crew did not write up a hard landing... Being a Mechanic, I know what a Hard Landing is!
Reply ↓•Permalink•Report
md69
Martin Dennett 1
Was sat at Mahon airport back in May 1998 waiting to travel back to Manchester (UK, not NH). I'd travelled out to Mahon two weeks previously and thought that the landing was somewhat harder than I'd experienced before. But the inbound this time looked as though it was a feather touch on the runway - good landing Captain Speaking!

I said to the bloke next to me "looked a better landing than the one two weeks ago that I came out on". He turned to me and said "Yeah, I was on that flight too" (I should point out to any readers outside of the UK that it was a package holiday flight). I said "hard landing wasn't it?" He said "I'm a mechanic for the airline (not to be named here) and if I'd seen it happen back at Manchester then I'd have pulled the aircraft out of service for inspection of the landing gear"
Reply ↓•Permalink•Parent•Report
cyberjet
cyberjet 3
“ if I'd seen it happen back at Manchester then I'd have pulled the aircraft out of service for inspection of the landing gear"

Which begs the question, why didn’t he do that in Mahon? Last time I checked, the manual didn’t say that hard landing inspections were only required when the landing occurred at a maintenance base.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Parent•Report
md69
Martin Dennett 1
I later found out that hard landings are the norm at Mahon. Because of the proximity to the coast and windshear (?) which can affect landings on 01, pilots prefer to make it stick, hence the heavy landing. I visited the cockpit on my next visit to MAH (pre-9/11) and spoke to Captain Speaking. I mentioned my previous landing which is when he told me. I've landed there several times since then and can confirm that it appears that the pilot doesn't seem to know how to flare when in reality, it's a normal landing. I've landed on 19 once and it was a featherlight landing.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Parent•Report
cyberjet
cyberjet 2
I landed there in an A320 numerous times when I flew for a UK charter airline, and never found it particularly challenging. Certainly nothing like the Canaries or Funchal.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Parent•Report
md69
Martin Dennett 2
Went to Funchal 6 weeks ago. Partly because I wanted to experience the type of landing you see on YouTube. Must have had one of the smoothest landings there ever. The week after, the airport was closed and all UK charter flights diverted to the Canaries because the crosswind was too high to attempt a landing.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Parent•Report
TimDyck
Tim Dyck 3
And then when it comes in for an inspection everyone is surprised that it needs extra work. Of course unscheduled work means scheduling problems and delays and then they blame the mechanics for it. One lesson I have learned is that aircraft mechanics are underpaid for the amount of extra BS they have to put up with to keep the aircraft safe.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Parent•Report
jmilleratp
jmilleratp 6
Article says "Most commercial jet landings are incredibly smooth." Not true from my experience and passenger and as a pilot not flying.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Report
Stormy105
Ed Chapman 10
Hmmmn…was there a FOQA readout of the “Gs” at touchdown? Was this a 23 year old F/A in excellent health or a 75 year old with osteoporosis? Not enough information……
Reply ↓•Permalink•Report
bbabis
bbabis 6
Osteoporosis is most likely the case and you don’t have to be old to have it. T7 can be fractured with a sneeze. If bent over in a brace position on an uncushioned jump seat, it wouldn’t take much of a firm touchdown. Hope she recovers fully.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Parent•Report
linbb
linbb -7
And on top of the other comment some stupid one like this make FA a real source of troll comments.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Parent•Report
Cleffer
Cleffer 2
Wow. Talk about a carrier landing.
Reply ↓•Permalink•Report

Login

Forgot password?
Don't have an account? Register now (free) for customized features, flight alerts, and more!
Join FlightAware
Did you know that FlightAware flight tracking is supported by advertising?
You can help us keep FlightAware free by allowing ads from FlightAware.com. We work hard to keep our advertising relevant and unobtrusive to create a great experience. It's quick and easy to whitelist ads on FlightAware or please consider our premium accounts.
Dismiss