Great Save by EWR Tower

Jpax

Well-Known Member
Anyone here that's flown into EWR often has probably had their share of fun with the 22R Circle 29. It's a great approach, especially if tower wants you making a short approach straight to the numbers.

Last night while holding short of 22R/W, we we're watching everyone make their swoops on in to 29. Up next was a 757. Looking out into the harbor, we tried to find this guy, and since we couldn't, just figured he was keeping it far out over the Hudson for a shallow turn to final. Not soon after, Tower calls up asking if this flight had a visual on the airport, as they were at a very low altitude, two and a half miles out from the airport. They replied they had no visual, and we're going missed. It was at this time we saw the plane come up from below the line of cranes that separate EWR from the harbor.

It was an eerie feeling seeing that aircraft so low that the harbor cranes obstructed it. Now whether the crew was already in the process of going missed, or ATC confirmed their doubts, good save by the guys up in tower. It's very easy to lose 29 at night, especially down low beneath low clouds.

Here's a picture showing 29 at night on the far side of the airport, as well as the harbor:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/British-Airways/Boeing-777-236/1659619/L/

And the LiveATC clip if anyone's interested, start at about 5:35 in: http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kewr/KEWR-Twr-Aug-15-2012-0100Z.mp3

It's another reinforced lesson about circling night approaches, or any approach. Lose the runway, just go missed. A few hundred feet off the ground at night in a sea of lights, or anywhere for that matter, isn't the time to play 'wait and see.'


Jpax
 
I'll never understand NY airspace; VOR approaches, circling approaches, etc. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to do something like that every once in a while, but not so fun when you're borderline current and tired at the end of a long flight. Mistakes can happen.
 
Great save for sure. I've seen one of our guys make the base to final turn OVER the NJ turnpike. That was a sight to see.
 
I'll never understand NY airspace; VOR approaches, circling approaches, etc. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to do something like that every once in a while, but not so fun when you're borderline current and tired at the end of a long flight. Mistakes can happen.

22L is closed for a week or two so it's either circle the arrivals to 29 or cancel a couple hundred flights a day.
 
22L is closed for a week or two so it's either circle the arrivals to 29 or cancel a couple hundred flights a day.

Oh, I hear ya. Done the 29 circle plenty. Not a big deal normally, but a fatigued crew can bungle it up in a hurry. Same with JFK and the VOR 13L.
 
Oh, I hear ya. Done the 29 circle plenty. Not a big deal normally, but a fatigued crew can bungle it up in a hurry. Same with JFK and the VOR 13L.

Shut up! Cargo pilots don't get tired. Now back to your crew station for the remainder of the 9 hour leg.
 
Jpax said:
If we're talking about scraping metal, no more landing on 33R/15L, even in the -200.

Yep. Sounds like a training issue if it is true y'all had three tail strikes! What have you heard?
 
I'm guessing the EWR tower guys got a low level alert. I've heard them pass those along to crews a lot on the 29 circle. I always thought the over the 4 numbers circle to land RNWY 29 was a lot more sporting than the 22L circle 29. By FAR the best I've seen was an El Al 744 go into a wide overhead left break over the numbers of 22 and circle to land on 29. I'm seriously not joking.
 
And the LiveATC clip if anyone's interested, start at about 5:35 in: http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kewr/KEWR-Twr-Aug-15-2012-0100Z.mp3

Woah, listen carefully at about 5:46. "Pull Up!". I don't know how accurate the track log on FlightAware is, but it shows them at 400 feet over Jersey City on the 2.5 mile final tower is talking about. The turnpike bridge is 268. The cranes are from 340 to over 400, but they're at least half mile south of the straight-in final to 29.
 
Woah, listen carefully at about 5:46. "Pull Up!". I don't know how accurate the track log on FlightAware is, but it shows them at 400 feet over Jersey City on the 2.5 mile final tower is talking about. The turnpike bridge is 268. The cranes are from 340 to over 400, but they're at least half mile south of the straight-in final to 29.

Good ear, I didn't hear that the first time around.
 
N519AT said:
There was only 2 tail strikes.

This post brought to you by beta from my iPhone.

"Only" two in a week?!?!?!?!?!?

Still sounds like a training issue :)
 
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