Disoriented Scans

Fine article about bounced landings. Preventing them should be primary but when we do get a bounce, for some airplanes the recommendation is not to save the landing but just to go around. A number of years ago, there was a series of fatal Cirrus bounced landing accidents. Im not sure if there were official findings that gave common cause, but one theory was that the fixed landing gear acted like a pogo stick and was unforgiving of too much energy on touchdown. The finesse that you describe to salvage this type of bounce was not easily done by some pilots.

Editorial Staff

Sunday, March 17, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Spatial disorientation poses a significant challenge for hand-flying pilots in IMC, as the "reptilian brain" can override instrument readings, making constant instrument scanning crucial and highlighting limitations of simulator training.
An alternative landing technique proposes pulling power to idle on downwind and flying at best glide speed with partial flaps, then using minimal power during the final phase for a more controlled, slower touchdown.
When faced with a bounced landing, especially in aircraft like the Cirrus, pilots are strongly advised to initiate a go-around rather than attempting to save it, generally following a "one bounce only" rule before going around.

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I thoroughly enjoyed Mike Hart’s “Losing Orientation” in the February 2019 issue and his sidebar, “Don’t Forget Your Scan.” It was a great review for me. Many writers of similar articles simply remind disoriented pilots to “trust your instruments” and recover. The instruments are easy to read, so how hard can it be? Well, really hard.

Autopilots alleviate this problem—until they don’t work. In my view, the trouble occurs almost only while hand flying…regardless of the logic of reliable, redundant, independent, clearly visible attitude indicators that you can easily interpret. Your reptilian brain ain’t buying it. “Up” is this way!