Video: PIO The best example

**gonzalu** · 2012-03-21, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by Derf

I was just going to say Manny....Bite me....but I like what you said! ;)

**stratoduck** · 2012-03-22, 07:50 PM

my thought too was that it was wake turbulence; he hit a wing tip vortice which started a string of errors. but further look it appears that the pilot induced the initial roll, indicated by the ailerons and roll spoilers.

i have seen similar before, and i would like to introduce two possibilities.

the first is that the pilot was tired. a sharp pilot will be a step ahead of the plane at every point. but a fatigued pilot can introduce errors, and then correct them but with too much of a time delay, which is another error. it also appears that after the gear dampens on roll oscillations on the runway, the pilot just gives up and lets it slam down. fatigue would explain that as well.

the second possibility i will suggest i have seen many times. there is a crosswind, and in lieu of the pilot dipping the wing into the wind and using the rudder to point the nose down the runway, the pilot tries to align the aircraft with the runway by banking alone. the crosswind then starts blowing it off centerline, and the pilot begins to bank into the wind to fly back to the center of the runway. reaching it, the pilot again tries to to align the aircraft to the runway with ailerons and not the rudder. it never works and it is a desperate attempt to make it work. a weak pilot is also likely to give up once the aircraft is on the ground, letting it slam on with a quick transition from flying to "driving". a proper landing is an elegant transition from flight to taxi.

i think either the two possibilities i suggested, and the previous suggestion are all likely, or a combination.

**USAF Pilot 07** · 2012-03-22, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by stratoduck

the second possibility i will suggest i have seen many times. there is a crosswind

Not much of a crosswind. Look at the windsock. Maybe a few knots at best.

Snydersnapshots' analysis seems pretty sound.
It doesn't seem like that terrible of a float though, but if you look around the 0:14 second mark, in an attempt to get the jet down it looks like he's got the jet in at least 10 degrees (if not more) of a right bank.
Once that gear hits (pretty firmly) it looks like instead of allowing the left gear to gently come down, he overcontrols the aircraft which in turn slams the left gear down and causes the right one to come back up. Meanwhile the spoilers, which are probably slaved to the MLG squat switch are trying to automatically deploy and he gets into a self-induced PIO.

Pretty scary landing though - glad it turned out ok.