Gerard M Foley <gfoley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
(referring to the SW 737-700 overrun at Chicago Midway)
>I still don't know why any pilot or controller chooses to accept a 25
>kt. tailwind, even if it isn't snowing.
No one ever did. Winds were from the East at approximately 10 kts.
For runway 31C this works out as a tailwind component of around 8 knots.
Although within prescribed operational limits, the situation was obviously
less than ideal. This translates into a reduction in safety margins, which
in the event proved insufficient to cope with further problems (a delay in
the activation of the thrust reversers).
As a result, and at the urging of the NTSB, the FAA has just published new
rules to increase the safety margins under these adverse conditions.
Kees de Lezenne Coulander