Hurrah for Bombardiers?

 I notice to my delight that the Bombardier Q400 FlyBe will be flying twixt Edinburgh and Manston is cleared for the 5.5° approach at London City. This is much steeper than the approach most planes use over Herne Bay.

Will Flybe be taking advantage of that when they land from the west at Manston? It would mean they’ll be flying far higher over the populated areas before starting their final descent and will therefore be less of a nuisance in terms of noise.

Alternatively, given that they’re not flying 747-400s and so don’t need a long, straight run up, they could be turning in from the sea over Reculver to intersect with the centreline of the runway rather than flying over the length of Herne Bay. Certainly, we weren’t plagued by EUJet flying directly straight over the town when they were in business and I’m sure Flybe will want to have as little negative impact as possible on local residents. Well, I can dream, can't I?

In the interests of balancing dreams with nightmares, here's a little dose of (historical) reality: 9th September 2007 an SAS Bombardier Q400 carrying 73 people caught fire after its right landing gear collapsed during an emergency landing at Aalborg’s airport in western Denmark. The plane skidded off the runway and five people were hurt during the evacuation.

Four days later, another SAS Bombardier Q400 attempted to land at Vilnius airport on its front and left landing gear, when the right set of wheels failed to extend. Passengers were ordered to move to the left side of the plane as it approached the runway, for fear that the right propeller might shred upon landing and send shards through the right side of the cabin, according to the Lithuanian Civil Aviation Administration.

It transpired that SAS management knew about the risk that the right landing gear could collapse during a landing. Nonetheless, it decided to: train the crew for emergency landings because there was a real probability that it could happen; and take the risk and continue having the plane in the air.

I assume the landing gear problems are all now resolved. I hope FlyBe are more responsible than SAS.