His Belly Shook Like a Bowl Full of… Flare!
It’s Christmas Eve and my first officer’s seat has a problem. There is a lever down below his left hip which allows the seat to recline back and forth, and that lever isn’t adjusting to the perfect spot. We discovered this at the beginning of our flying day in Buffalo, NY, a city without company maintenance support.
His seat is stuck at an incline and it will not raise forward again. The plan for that day is for the first officer to fly to St Louis, Missouri, followed by my flight to Detroit and then his short hop over to Chicago’s Midway airport, where maintenance personnel can either fix or replace his seat.
He Said It’s Not a Problem. Let’s Press For Now.
We decide that the seat is safe and usable. We takeoff with our holiday travelers bound for the Midwest. The only challenge to our circumstance is that my first officer is about 5-foot, 4-inches tall and carries a plump belly. He’s what we call a 4 X 4: four feet high and four feet wide.
The flight to St Louis is uneventful and to compensate for the reclined seat, my first officer pulls his seat up a little closer to his control yoke. His landing in St Louis is smooth and as he decelerates, I take over the controls using the tiller to the left of my yoke and taxi the 737 to our assigned gate.
Just One More Leg To Go Before Christmas
Forty-five minutes later we are airborne again with 130 passengers bound for Detroit to begin their Christmas holiday. As the sun begins to set, it’s now my first officer’s “leg” and he takes off with a 737 full flight of holiday-clad travelers and their gifts bound for Grandma’s house. We descend over Lake Michigan and set up for the approach to Runway 22 Left, with the skyline of downtown Chicago brightly lit against the night sky off our right wingtip.
It’s Challenging To Land At Midway Under The Best Of Conditions
Chicago Midway is known for its short runways, only a little over one mile long, when most airports boast runways of two miles long. Short runways are a challenge and don’t provide much of an opportunity for a gentle flare and smooth touchdown under the best of conditions.
It can be done, but if the plane can’t be on the ground smoothly in the first 1,500 feet of runway, then it’s time to plop it down and tell the deplaning passengers, “Go Navy!” when they ridicule a firm touchdown.
My first officer is concerned about the short runway. With his seat reclined a bit more than he’d normally have it, he moves his seat even closer to his control column, unbeknownst to me. He’s nicely aligned with Runway 22L and I see the visual glide path lights of two white and two red lights, indicating he is on the correct descent path, not too steep and not too shallow.
On Glide Path
The 737 glides over the runway threshold, pointing at a spot 1000 feet down the runway. In a normal scenario, at 30 feet above the ground the pilot gently raises the nose, known as the flare, to decrease the descent rate and prepare for touchdown.
I only see the 1000 foot aim point looming ahead with no increase in pitch or initiation of a flare. At 10 feet my only thought is, “Oh man!” as we contact the ground like an F/A-18 that grabbed the third cable.
Welcome to Midway
The aircraft landing gear is built to withstand this firm impact and it was safe but it’s not comfortable for those riding in back. We call it a “carrier landing” and have all had that embarrassing moment at one time or another.
Jolly ‘Ole St. Nick Strikes Again
The plane slows and I take over controls at 60 knots, turning slightly left on the high-speed taxiway. My first officer, aka, Santa’s Little Helper that night, sheepishly tells me, “I went to flare and the yoke hit my belly.” Only on Christmas Eve could I laugh about that landing.
…And to all a good flight!
