Fear of Landing

MAY 24, 2024

A few days ago (21st of May 2024), Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 encountered heavy turbulence on a passenger flight from London-Heathrow to Singapore. Very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing a seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling. Anyway, the seat belt light appeared.

Turbulence 86

Turbulence UTC Weather Airline 86

Aerotime

DECEMBER 20, 2024

We will also examine the next most critical phase of our flight, from descent and deceleration to the approach and landing phases, even touching upon what happens when the aircraft arrives safely at the gate. All of this hardware needs to be accommodated somewhere.

Cabin Crew 178

Cabin Crew Descent Runway Approach 178

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

Often, turbulence is the harbinger of mountain waves, not the ideal ceiling—and visibility unlimited—day. Flight idle and nose down, which normally produced a 2,000-3,000-feet descent rate, resulted in a 2,000-feet-per-minute climb. We continued our descent into Great Falls, leaving “the wave” behind and above.

Turbulence 89

Turbulence Weather Knot Descent 89

Air Facts

APRIL 29, 2024

KCPC was reporting IFR conditions with a 700’ ceiling and one mile visibility. I requested a descent from 6,000’ down to 4,000’ and was denied due to traffic. I was soon cleared to descend to 4,000’ and entered IMC during the descent while I located the approach chart to brief. Was this rule being broken? Not really.

Descent 98

Descent Approach Weather AGL 98

Plane and Pilot

AUGUST 6, 2024

The route is simple, GPS direct, but…there’s my personal 1,000-foot en route ceiling requirement, and those silly Smoky Mountains. Even though synthetic vision might help me perform an emergency descent to a valley that might not be cloud filled, that’s pretty sketchy as a risk-mitigation strategy. It was now time to plan the trip.

Airplanes 83

Airplanes Weather Ceiling Turbulence 83

Photographic Logbook

JULY 11, 2024

Moments after climbing through the ceiling over Beverly, MA. We made an IFR departure that morning on runway 16 and climbed above the ceiling in short order. Approaching the Green Mountains of Vermont, the ceiling began to close back up. This meant that there would be no getting into Sodus unless the ceiling lifted.

Ceiling 52

Ceiling Approach Weather Runway 52

Photographic Logbook

APRIL 19, 2024

I expected to manage some cloud layers during the New York portion of the flight, but the forecast called for a high ceiling at Northeast Philadelphia Airport. Phantom City Initially, I believed that the original forecast claiming high ceilings around Philadelphia would come to pass. Famous last words.)

Approach 97

Approach Wind Shear Runway VOR 97