Air Canada pulls a Hans Solo

[LH-B744]

I wonder if the VASI, approach lighting and touch-down zone lights were working...

[shortened]

Hm. You better don't ask me about the LH experience at SFO, this does no longer concern "my a/c type",
although it is my avatar: LH-B744 at the Bay Intercontinental airport.
But today, the Bay is not a LH 747 topic... ..

In general, the SF Bay Intercontinenal airport is not a bad airport. But I use semipro Boeing simulators for California since almost a decade... The procedures are definitely different from JFK, but not so very different from LAX, keyword nose dive ...

Where did I read that SFO regularly turns off all IFR frequencies? Must've been a source with jetphotos in its name. Yes. And then a jet pilot with four engines can show what he's able to do. Good that we have airports like the SF bay, they are the spice in aviation!

[Vnav]

Just something to think about....

They've been doing a lot of work on RWY28L at SFO with nightly closure of the runway, lights, and approach aids. If you didn't go there often and were expecting to see two parallel runways I suppose it's possible with RWY 28L out of service and relatively dark to assume that 28R was the left parallel and TXY C was the right parallel

Some recent SFO NOTAMS:
SFO 07/056 SFO NAV ILS RWY 28L OUT OF SERVICE 1707120600-1707121500
SFO 07/043 SFO RSFO 06/017 SFO RWY 28L ALS OUT OF SERVICE 1706021357-1707211500
SFO 06/017 SFO RWY 10R/28L CLSD DLY 0600-1500 1707110600-1707131500

[Gabriel]

I wonder if the VASI, approach lighting and touch-down zone lights were working...

[LH-B744]

ZERO dead humans in a cabin of a commercial flight since December 31st 2016, worldwide. I like to thank JACDEC for that message.

That includes Air Canada. I've sometimes wondered why Dorval does not share a JACDEC rank with my nickname. Somewhere they've discovered a difference.

Is there a day in the future when JACDEC here on jetphotos explains why Qantas and Air Canada (AC) are below my nickname, in the 2016 ranking?

Provide me a flight (dep and arr are equal for all providers)
in a QF-B744 and a LH-B744 and an AC-B744 (if AC didn't leave the 747 club in 2003), and I say that all three should share one place in a ranking! With almost the same amount of seats (!), an intercontinental experience of clearly more than half a century, et cetera.

But I've never fully trusted all statistics on this planet..

[Gabriel]

Are FDRs today sophisticated enough to show what the ILS indications were during the approach?

Yes. IF they were using it (they were in a visual approach). Anyway, since the plane is intact, you will also have the QAR which has much more and much better info (but is not crash/fire worthy).

[Gabriel]

Four large planes on the taxiway is a lot of metal. Enough to distort the localizer?

No. And, as a side note, they were in a visual approach (not saying that an eventual LOC distortion could not be still an issue).

[LH-B744]

Are FDRs today sophisticated enough to show what the ILS indications were during the approach?

Hm. A very good question. I'd say that very strongly depends on the a/c type.

A few hours ago, I've read a public JACDEC message. The first six months of the year 2017 were the safest months in worldwide aviation, EVER?
[six months with ZERO dead humans in a cabin of a commercial flight, worldwide?! ]

Well, I don't know much about AC-A320s, but, as nobody was injured, I tend to say that

1. all pilots
and
2. the FDR in an A320

have received all NOTAMs (updates) which are available.

For the FDR in a B744 I like to say the same, but I am not the NTSB, I have never read one.

[LH-B744]

I think we should almost always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always,
[...]
[shortened]
[...]
always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always tune the ILS...almost.

Hm. I very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very VERY seldom spread requests for online friendship. And I am still convinced of my choice!

The last 4 words in his #2 post are important, and I say that without that I've read what happened.

My dear friend,
who dares and does not tune that frequency. Obviously there are some.. One second.

[elaw]

Are FDRs today sophisticated enough to show what the ILS indications were during the approach?

[Evan]

This was a near total air disaster indeed. Well, more total than near, since the go-around was executed at 400 ft which should be about 1 mile out. But there were 4 planes lined up in the taxiway.

Four large planes on the taxiway is a lot of metal. Enough to distort the localizer?

[Gabriel]

Are we color blind?

Is it really necessary to dim down the runway lights like we do?

Should we install directional taxi lights that show red to folks approaching?

How about we install runway-end identification lights and call them REIL? Oh, wait a second...

[elaw]

Should we install directional taxi lights that show red to folks approaching?

Or maybe a big (illuminated at night) "X" at the ends of taxiways that might be confused with runways. It's obviously not "standard" per current regulations, but the same symbology as a closed runway might give pause to someone absentmindedly trying to land on that "runway".

[3WE]

Are we color blind?

Is it really necessary to dim down the runway lights like we do?

Should we install directional taxi lights that show red to folks approaching?

[Gabriel]

This was a near total air disaster indeed. Well, more total than near, since the go-around was executed at 400 ft which should be about 1 mile out. But there were 4 planes lined up in the taxiway.

[3WE]

I think we should almost always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always, always tune the ILS...almost.