Well, it\’s obvious you don\’t work in this industry. The controller does assign the runway, but the pilots are the ONLY ones responsible for deciding whether to land on that runway or not. The pilots were told of the slight tailwind, which was within acceptable limits, and made their decision accordingly. It is not terribly uncommon for transport jets to land with a tailwind. If the traffic flows were reversed everytime the wind swung around for a few minutes, at less than 10 knots, we would get very little flying done! Oh, and we DO still use \’cloth\’ windsocks, but they are a little tough to see while airborne when it is snowing and the visibility is only 1/4 mile, which is one reason we rely on ATC to provide weather information. Again, though, lack of information about the wind wasn\’t a factor, since the pilots did know about the tailwind.
It\’s amazing how lawyers grab onto making a buck. Yes this acident is sad, yes it could have been avoided, but I do believe that several factors played into the end result.
In keeping with it\’s reputation Southwest responded quickly and will do the right thing. It\’s ashame that there are lawyers willing to try and bring down one of America\’s greatest companies over this. Southwest\’s attention to safety is always of the highest standard.
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Well, it\’s obvious you don\’t work in this industry. The controller does assign the runway, but the pilots are the ONLY ones responsible for deciding whether to land on that runway or not. The pilots were told of the slight tailwind, which was within acceptable limits, and made their decision accordingly. It is not terribly uncommon for transport jets to land with a tailwind. If the traffic flows were reversed everytime the wind swung around for a few minutes, at less than 10 knots, we would get very little flying done! Oh, and we DO still use \’cloth\’ windsocks, but they are a little tough to see while airborne when it is snowing and the visibility is only 1/4 mile, which is one reason we rely on ATC to provide weather information. Again, though, lack of information about the wind wasn\’t a factor, since the pilots did know about the tailwind.
It\’s amazing how lawyers grab onto making a buck. Yes this acident is sad, yes it could have been avoided, but I do believe that several factors played into the end result.
In keeping with it\’s reputation Southwest responded quickly and will do the right thing. It\’s ashame that there are lawyers willing to try and bring down one of America\’s greatest companies over this. Southwest\’s attention to safety is always of the highest standard.