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Originally Posted by fromFT
Back to the md-88 incident on March 2015...
Yesterday, NTSB noted they are getting ready to set the final report and held a public hearing
For those who may not remember this accident, it was a Delta MD-88 landing at LGA during snow and low visibility and ceiling. The plane departed the runway after landing and went through a fence, coming to rest about 90° to the runway. The report listed the main cause: Use of excessive engine reverse thrust and rudder blanking on MD-80 series airplanes.
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Did the incident influence the current landing trainings? Have you seen any of the automated changes NTSB recommends being tested?
(And within the permitted information sharing- were the pilots allowed back to fly? and I am not sure I have a pro/con on that, as I am not 100% convinced it is purely a 'human error', aka- the runway reports from the previous landings did not match the conditions they run into)
I may not the best guy to ask, since I haven't flown since this past January*, but there was a renewed emphasis on the topic of reverse thrust. It's very easy to exceed the recommended EPR when using the thrust reversers and I always brief the First Officer to monitor the EPR during the landing rollout when I'm flying and bring it to my attention if I'm starting to get it up near 1.6. After logging some time in the 88, most pilots become very comfortable with where to set the reversers but it's easy to overdo it. In the 717 (which is like an MD "mini me") they have FADEC engines and there's a detent for putting the throttles into reverse. It works perfectly every time and I'm always envious of that when I jumpseat on that plane.
To my knowledge, there has been no automation retrofitted on the planes to aid in avoiding an overboost during thrust reverser deployment. I doubt there ever will be any such modification made to the plane. Like it or not, proper use of reversers in the MD-80 series of planes is going to depend on capable pilots.
I have no idea what became of the pilots involved in this accident. I assume they're still flying, but who knows? On the subject of runway condition reports, that is known to be subjective. One man's "good braking" is another man's "fair." And braking action can be significantly different at different points along the runway, not to mention that it can change a lot over a short period of time with changes in precip and temperature. It's just not an exact science.
When I'm landing during any wintry precip, I make sure to select auto-brakes, max flaps (for lowest touchdown speed), and heightened attention to the touchdown point, seeking to plant it on at the 1000' point. We want to land firmly to get the weight on the main gear quickly so that the brakes have maximum effectiveness.
*On this subject: I had a clean CT scan two weeks ago and I'm waiting to hear about getting back to work.