Did the crew wait too long to go-around in this RW stormy approach?

[iwebber 207]

You'd never know if they were on a visual or not from looking out of the window. If they were on a visual approach they could still use the ILS (or any other approach guidance) to help them, a visual approach (at least in ATC terms) just means they're no longer vectoring you towards a specific point to start the approach and making sure you don't hit the ground.

When they ask if you're visual and you say yes, it just means they're leaving you to your own devices to find the runway, if you decide to use the ILS (or VOR/DME or RNAV points, whatever) to help you then you can but there's no guarantee they won't switch any/all of it off at any point, so make sure you stay visual.

A DH is a height (above the runway) at which you have to have visual contact with the runway or it's surroundings (depending on the type of approach) and they won't give you a visual approach unless you report you can see the runway, ergo the DH for the visual approach is the height you are at when they ask you. If you're not visual, they won't clear you for a visual approach and if you are they will. Of course, a visual approach isn't a precision approach so you'd actually have an MDA rather than a DH anyway. That's my long and slightly facetious way of saying, no, there's no DH (or MDA) for a visual approach. There are circling minimums but that's something else...

The clip shows a bumpy approach followed by a go around, all very dramatic in the cabin but I'd suggest the flight deck was calm, if slightly tense, they probably decided to throw it away well before they actually started the go around, it wasn't that low.

As to the Airbus limiting roll authority on the ground, this is entirely true but don't forget the Airbus ailerons are so powerful that limiting them doesn't reduce the aircraft's effectiveness at all (it's like saying an Aston Martin is limited to 155mph... on a 70mph motorway). Flying the Airbus in direct law (i.e. aileron/elevator deflection is proportional to sidestick deflection) is incredibly 'twitchy' and limiting roll rate on the ground just reduces the chance of over exuberance in the heat of the moment causing unwanted ground contact. I've never had an issue picking a wing up below 10ft in gusty winds but I have (on two occasions, ahem) flicked it over to the other wing and wiggled around quite a bit before it settles on, those ailerons are really REALLY powerful.

HTH,

Ian

[KrisJ 43]

Didnt know they implemented wingflex in Embraers...