Comments on: Air Force One Misses an Approach

By: Sal Lagonia

Sal Lagonia — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 00:21:13 +0000

It depends on why I went missed. If caused by the weather being below minimums, it’s not going to get better on another approach so it’s on to the alternate. If it was something other than that – which could be corrected on the next try – I would give it one more attempt.

By: Steve Crum

Steve Crum — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 02:58:19 +0000

As a CFII/MEI who works in a Toledo TV station, I was eagerly summoned to the newsroom to review a recording of the ATC communications. Air Force One calmly transmitted “Missed Approach” and were calmly instructed to fly the published missed approach. At that point he recording was stopped and I was asked what that was and how it could happen.The videographer who was present for the arrival was there so I asked about weather conditions. He said he could see Air Force One in and out of clouds and the clouds were very low and visibility was poor. I then explained why pilots call a missed approach and added that I had personally practiced 5 of them the preceding week. They were then excited about the “published missed approach”. I listened to the rest of the recording and heard “Air Force One 2,000 climbing 3,000. They were then issued a heading for vectors to the GPS 25 at Toledo Express (the ILS 25 was notamed out of service). I pulled the IAP from the AOPA website and revealed the mysterious “Published Missed Approach”- Climb to 3000 direct ATVIY and hold. The weather cleared and the 2nd approach was uneventful. I told them none of that was at all unusual, happens all the time, but it made the news anyway.

By: Flying Donald

Flying Donald — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 23:08:17 +0000

The headlines would have been a lot worse had the pilots not exercised good judgment and gone missed. Indeed, the pressure to land when you’re carrying a VIP is likely to foster bad judgment in those not properly disciplined. Carrying a VIP could well have been a big factor in the 2010 crash that killed the Polish president and a lot of his cabinet, as well as the 2004 crash of the charter that was en route to collect George HW Bush. (I forget the details on the latter but recall the crew executed a “short cut” of some kind, to make up time.)

In all, then, the press should be taken to task for making a positive sound like a negative, and Mr Obama should buy the pilots dinner as a reward. It must be bally hard to act as PIC when you’ve got the President riding in the back. Good for them.

By: Joe Bltzflx

Joe Bltzflx — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:27:42 +0000

Yesterday, while harvesting apples, I fell off my ladder. Did you know that as many people are killed falling off ladders as in airplane accidents? It’s true. Look it up.

I am puzzled that my fall did not make national news. Also, shouldn’t there be an FLA (Federal Ladder Administration) and a NLSB (National Ladder Safety Board)? Why isn’t my ladder being held in quarantine until the two-year accident investigation is completed? And where is the Lall report?

Ah, life’s little mysteries.