From the perspective of a private pilot, I agree these pilots should have been fired. THis landing was on runway 23-05. The wing flipped up as the A320 crossed runway 33-15. From the perspectives involved runway 33-15 would have been a head wind. While they should not have landed in the first place, runway 33-15 would have been a better choice. These pilots almost killed 130 people!

Brett, San Rafael, California

I have about three hours flying time in a single engine Mooney so I am hardly in the company of many of those posting to this blog, but as soon as I saw the start of the video I'm asking myself, "Why is he even attempting to land?" Yes, the pilots did a great job of recovering from this ill-advised landing, but EVERYONE - the pilots, ATC, and Lufthansa - should be hauled into an investigation at the very highest level; this was brinkmanship at its deadliest.

Robert Pope, Kirkland, Wa USA

As a retired 33 yr airline pilot, 29 of which was Captain I am here to tell you those pilots were not heros. They should be fired for having incredibly bad judgement.

f.k.jegen, st pete, usa fl

whether they should have come in to land or not these pilots are amazing for controlling a bad situation and deserve all the praise they get lets face it they are only human and everyone can make mistakes but to rectify them and save lives is more important.

helen, middlesbrough, england

Why on earth are they trying to touch down at an airport where crosswinds are gusting at 155mph?!

This situation should never have happened.

Ricky, Cape Town, South Africa

The skill of the pilots is evidenced by the fact they survived conditions beyond the capabilities of the the aircraft itself.

The decision to continue the approach when the crab angle (which will only increase as the plane slows to touchdown speed) was wrong.

Ask yourself this question, would Air Force One have continued that approach? Then these pilots with over 100 souls aboard should not have either.

Luck determined the outcome.

Bob H, Gadsden, AL, USA

It's funny how the media always praise "hero pilots" after some narrow escape that was the consequence of bad airmanship. The Lufthansa crew should never have persisted in their approach with such a huge gusting cross-wind. It was clearly beyond the limits of the plane. They came no-where near correcting the crab for touchdown. Against all the rules

Jorg Andersen, Vienna,

Factor in the cost of oil and corporate profits lost If the flight had to land at another airport. These skilled highly paid pilots are paid to bring in the profits right ?

P Ortega, San Diego, Ca, USA

Absolutely brilliant piece of flying! Why are there always people who have to take a negative view of something brilliant! Can't these people get a life! This pilot should get a medal.

John Baydon-Stroud, Worthing, United Kingdom

This landing should never have been attempted. The crosswinds on that runway were known to be at limit, the pilot should have requested the alternate runway and, if refused by ATC requested Frankfurt as alternate. First landing attempt was made on RWY23, second landing successful on more favourable RWY33. Flying by the seat of your pants on Commercial is never accptable. Know your aircraft and it's capabilities, and if in doubt divert.

Flyin' High, London,

Mike, you don't seem understand that the pilots put them selves under these condition in the first place, they are no heroes but lacking in safety, they could have killed everyone!
The approach was unstable and they should have gone around. Looking at the angle of the aircraft crabbing the crosswind in my opinion was outside the limits of the aircraft and the crew. The thing which gets me is that the pilots knew what the wind was doing from the Tower Controller (in my opinion out of limits) and should have chosen the other runway for landing which was more into wind or diverted else where, where wind was calmer.
I fly the Airbus and it is very worrying that Lufthansa pilots even attempted this landing and I would be concerned about the pilot's them selves, the training department and even Lufthansa management if it is them who pressured the crew to leave Munich for Hamburg in the first place.

Regards,

BW, London, UK

GO , RED BARON, GO !

Snoopy, UK,

JT from London has missed the point completely. He or she should watch the video again, especially the instant where the aircraft is subjected to the strong gust and the pilot has to "think and re-evaluate" a changing situation in an extremely short space of time and make the right decision for the aircraft, crew and passengers, his prime concern and responsibility. Its unfortunate the wingtip clipped the tarmac, this fact alone is probably responsible for the aborted landing making the news at all. German corporate structure is no better or worse than English corporate structure, with the advantage that most German companies are run by Engineers. My own experience with German companies is quite different from that experienced by JT. Flying an aircraft in very windy conditions is very hard work and the results can look both spectacular and (to the layman) alarming. Air is very unforgiving.

Andrew D. Graham, Moenchengladbach, Germany

As a private pilot, I fully agree with Nick. While the video of this near disaster (and recovery) is quite impressive, it was obviously a poor decision (for all involved) to even attempt a landing in crosswinds of this magnitude. A " go around" and then using a different runway would have been the professional thing to do. The pilots could also have diverted to an alternate airport if necessary. To attempt that landing was extremely unprofessional if not suicidal!

Bob, Vineyard Haven, Ma. USA

The aircraft appears from the crab angle to be attempting to land outside it's (and the pilots) crosswind limit. The near disaster shows that the decision to attempt an approach in such conditions was a very bad one. I suspect that rather than being praised for their actions, the pilots will most likely be grounded for a period of retraining at the very least.

JW, Auckland, New Zealand

This hotdog captain nearly killed a lot of people, he got away with it....this time.He should have gone around a lot sooner, the authority should pull his licence....the name of the game is , SAFETY,SAFETY,SAFETY..!!!

Ted Thomas, Antigua, West Indies

The footage clearly shows the plane being blown off course well before the runway. It puts me off Lufthansa that they apparently regard this as acceptable.

Jules, UK,

Sorry Jim, what those pilots did was astounding, bordering on the super-natural. I think you're forgetting the golden rule of flight. Any landing you walk away from, is a good landing. So, I've got to say that I'm so very impressed with the skill it took to get out of such a situation alive. I'd gladly fly with those guys at the controls anytime!

Regards,
Mike

Mike, Corinna, USA/Maine

Agree with the "cowboy" post. The really skillful pilot does not need to use his heightened skills to get out of jail. He spots the looming prison gates in advance and neatly side steps the danger , the drama , and the plane spotters

mark heeley, sydney, australia

My view is somehow different from the official position:
1. The pilot shouldn't have tried to land with such wind conditions. He had enough fuel, so should have asked for a headwind runway, at wherever airport. He did put the whole passage at risk
2. The manoeuvre of approach and touch looks fine, but not so much the correction right after touching with the left gear; it seems like the correction was overdosed, prompting the airplane to bear unbalanced side winds. At least, the correction manoeuvre should have been essayed before touching, while finally landing only if sure of a balanced manoeuvre
3. The pilot was right, and lucky, at aborting the landing

So, to me, being a pilot, the question remains: why the pilot tried to land under such conditions? it's clear, from a risk perspective, that he should haven't done so.

Gonzalo, Madrid, Spain

Having worked with Germans - where the orders from the top are considered to be the only course of action allowable - and where opinion, or worse - decisions taken, from the ranks below are considered to be punishable or insolent, I too believe that this was a near disaster that should have benefitted from a thinking and empowered re-evaluation of the situation. That it is being portrayed as a great success is a demonstration of the CMS mentality at its height.

JT, London, UK

Hamburg's airport has two runways and an approach on the alternative runway would have reduced the side wind component for the pilot significantly (only 30 degrees on instead of 70 degrees on). A strong gust from the right lifts the starboard wing, perhaps as the aircraft is in ground effect, and the pilot takes positive, decisive action, applies full power and goes around. I imagine this type of manoeuvre must be a difficult one for airline pilots, not because its one they are unable to implement perfectly, but because a part of their mental capacity during such a manoeuvre is occupied trying to maintain a smooth flightpath for the passengers, something which may conflict with landing the aircraft in severe conditions. I'm not a pilot but I'd love to have been aboard that particular flight to experience some real flying. I use Lufthansa alot and am glad to see some real evidence that I'm in good hands.

Andrew D. Graham, Mönchengladbach, Germany

No kudos for these German pilots... please. This was a case of pilot error that nearly resulted in a disaster. From the time the video starts, the aircraft is already shown to be flying at a high crab angle indicating that severe crosswind conditions were present and known to the flight crew well before they even got low over the runway threshold. The real "professional manoeuvre" would have been to abort the landing much earlier at a safer altitude, go around, and request an approach heading into the intersecting runway at Hamburg more aligned into the wind. The pilots were bahaving like cowboys to have even attempted landing under these conditions.

Jim Nick, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, US