"Ramapriya" wrote in
oups.com:

Capt.Doug wrote:

Go-arounds, otherwise called balked landings, are standard training
curriculum. Once or twice a year we may have to perform one.


but surely not real-time in an aircraft, Doug? The twice-yearly routine
is in a simulator, I'm sure! And that's what simulators are there for
anyway, isn't it - to hone your aviation knowledge and skills in upset
and abnormal situations?

Ramapriya


About 5 1/2 years ago I was in Las Vegas with some visiting friends. While
my friends kids went on the rides on top of the Stratosphere Tower, I was
watching the airlines land on 19 L&R at McCarran. It was a brilliantly
clear hot August day. Way in the distance what looked like a black screen
could be seen. One could see blue sky both in front of and behind this
black screen. It was moving towards us. As it reached the far end of RWY
19, one could see that is was a rain shower maybe 1/3 of a mile deep. We
could see the water spattering off the runway surface. We observed an
American MD80, Air West 737, and Delta MD80 execute go rounds and could see
them bounce around as they penetrated the shower. Then, with the storm
about in the middle of the runway, a Soutwest 737 decided to land and
almost fishtailed off when it hit the storm. At least two more flights
follwing the Southwest flight went around. That was all we could observe
as the outside observation deck was evacuated when the storm reached the
numbers on the runway (about 7 miles from the Stratosphere Tower).

At FAA safety seminars, they have shown a video called "The Day All Hell
Broke Loose" showing what happened at the old Stapleton Airport in Denver
one day when the wind shear topped 100 knots! Many airliners (I seem to
remember the video showing 8) went around rather than try to handle this
severe wind shear. I don't know if this video is available on the web, but
if you get a chance to see it, it is an eye opener.

--
Marty Shapiro
Silicon Rallye Inc.

(remove SPAMNOT to email me)