Go arounds (whereby pilots abort a touchdown, usually on ultimate strategy) are routine maneuvers, and are usually very protected. In any case, the entire cause to carry out a go round is to keep away from any danger. Nevertheless, a current Southwest Boeing 737’s go round at LaGuardia Airport raised some eyebrows, because the jet was apparently utterly off target at a low altitude…
Southwest 737 LaGuardia go round mess
On Saturday, March 23, 2024, the New York space noticed completely terrible climate, with sturdy winds and restricted visibility. New York LaGuardia Airport is among the tougher airports in america to land on a pleasant day, not to mention when the climate will get dangerous.
This incident includes Southwest flight WN147, flying from Nashville (BNA) to New York LaGuardia (LGA). The flight was operated by a roughly six-year-old Boeing 737-800 with the license plate N8554X.
VASAviation has a wonderful visualization of what occurred, with each the air site visitors management audio and flight paths.
I’d advocate watching the video for your self, although to summarize:
- Southwest flight 147 is cleared to land on runway 4, however then performs a go round, with the reason is that they had been “too quick, too excessive with the tailwind”
- Southwest flight 147 swings again round for one more strategy; the JetBlue plane proper in entrance of the Southwest 737 performs a go round, with the reason is wind shear
- As Southwest flight 147 makes its ultimate strategy, the plane goes off target, flying east of the runway, and reportedly will get dangerously near the air site visitors management tower
- Because the airplane approaches the airport off target, an air site visitors controller yells “GO AROUND, GO AROUND,” and the airplane climbs to 2,000 ft; what’s type of wild is that in accordance with flight monitoring information, the airplane was at an altitude of simply 200 ft, whereas being utterly off target for the runway
- At this level the air site visitors controller says “say the rationale that you simply had been, like, not on the strategy” (that’s a well mannered method to put it!)
- When requested concerning the cause for the go round, the air site visitors controller says “it was not aligned with the runway in any respect, it was like east of the ultimate, he was not gonna land on the runway”
- After this incident, the Southwest pilots sound quite shaken up, as you’ll be able to hear the voices of each pilots trembling; it’s additionally fascinating how the pilot speaking modifications after that second go round, so I’m guessing the captain was initially the pilot monitoring, however grew to become the pilot flying after that go round
- At this level the pilots state that their intentions to divert to Pittsburgh (PIT), although the airplane ended up diverting to Baltimore (BWI)
What occurred with this Southwest 737?
I believe we will all agree this is among the extra uncommon go round conditions. It was a crappy day at LaGuardia, and there have been many go arounds. Nevertheless, the truth that a Southwest 737 was at an altitude of 200 ft whereas being utterly off target is alarming, to place merely.
Maybe what’s much more regarding is that the air site visitors controller needed to name the go round, because the pilots seemingly didn’t assume something was fallacious. The plane was on an ILS (instrument touchdown system) strategy for runway 4. The airport’s procedures require for that to be hand flown, with autopilot turned off.
Admittedly situations had been very difficult that day, with sturdy winds and restricted visibility. However nonetheless, in these circumstances, one would assume that you simply’d provoke a go round previous to being 200 ft up, nowhere near the runway.
Hopefully this incident is investigated. It appears far more severe than most of the current incidents which have gotten a whole lot of media consideration, specializing in the 737 MAX or on United Airways.
Backside line
LaGuardia noticed some terrible climate on Saturday, inflicting many plane to carry out go arounds. One Southwest 737 had a very noteworthy go round, whereby the airplane descended to an altitude of round 200 ft, whereas being nowhere near the runway centerline.
Whereas errors occur and planes generally get a bit off target, one has to marvel what went fallacious right here that allowed pilots to be to this point off target at such a low altitude, with out even realizing it.
What do you make of this Southwest 737 go round incident?
