What are the various factors that contribute to a smooth landing of an aircraft?

Question

I observe that some pilots in Indian aircraft do a bad job. Does the total weight of the aircraft (including cargo,passengers,etc.,),quality of the runway,aircraft tires has anything to do with some aircrafts landing smooth or wobbling to scare you to death? Appreciate serious answers

Answer 1

Turbulence, wind shear, terrain and pilot ability all factor in. Not every landing can be or should be made smoothly. When landing on a windy, gusty day, the main idea is to get the plane on the runway as quick as you can so you can slow it down and get out of the wind.

Same thing with a short runway. You are trying to get the plane down and stopped as quick as you can, no time to really "grease" it on. On a jet like a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320, a short runway is 7000 ft. For pilots like me in a small, single-engine plane, a short runway is 2000 ft.

Landing an airplane is not easy and doing it smoothly is even more difficult, especially in less then ideal conditions. It is one of the hardest things to teach new pilots as a flight instructor. Sometimes, when your just ready to make a really smooth landing, a gust of wind comes or some other factor turns a "landing" into an "arrival"

Answer 2

Sometimes the landing will be more difficult due to crosswinds, wind gusts, wind shear, and wake turbulence cause by other aircraft. Other factors can be if the pilot flared properly on landing and how long the runway is. On short runways the point is to get the plane on the ground and stopped, in these situations it often not going to be smooth. Most times if the landing was rough its just going to be a little uncomfortable and the luggage may move a little, but the airplane is not going to be damaged at all, you would be amazed at what they can take.

Answer 3

Landing is one of the most difficult action that a pilot can operate. There are many factors, but wind is the mainly one. Just like yesterday, a Boeing 777 came in for a smooth landing, but the pilot couldn't keep the plane stable. The wind was very strong and then the pilot had to declare a missed approach. Wind, pressure, stabability, the following of the glidescope, and what the weather may be.

Answer 4

The quality of the landing depends a lot by the ability of the pilot. When the airplane is landing if it's descending speed would be kept until touching the ground it would almost crash. When approaching the ground the pilot has to make the plane turn its nose up and speed up a little bit, so that its descending speed would decrease a lot and the first part that would touch the ground would be the central tyres.
So the pilot makes the landing smotther!

Answer 5

Crosswind, indicated airspeed, approach altitude, flaps, flare timing and height above the runway, ground effect would be the major factors in my mind. .

There are other less crucial factors that still come into play.

This is provided the aircraft's CG and weight are within legal limits as well as visability minimums. It's a whole lot easier if there's a glideslope indicator at the airport. Also, the more runway you have in front of you, the easier it is to smooth things out for your passengers.

Mostly it's preparation and practice.

Answer 6

Wind conditions (crosswinds, low level turbulence and wind shear) and the timing of the flare are the two main factors. A highly skilled pilot can compensate for conditions and timing the flare is a matter of practice.

A rough runway won't make for a rough landing though it will affect the rollout. Tires aren't much of a factor if they're in serviceable condition.

Answer 7

Sukadev,

Wanna see some crosswind & hard landings ? wanna see a TAP A321 swinging wildly as it comes in to land the Pilot aborts the landing and does a "go around" ? wanna see a B777 Pilot "crab" his way to the runway against a strong crosswind & a very expert landing ? http://www.youtube.com, the videos in there are some of the best I have seen on flights.

Answer 8

wind conditions
air pressure
weather
dryness of runway
the landing depends according to the liming if the timing in switching the engines is late then smooth landing is impossible
wheight is not a factor no cargo is heavier than the plane it self
only gud timing has smooth landing

Answer 9

Now a days ,slowly ,pilots are being replaced by Instrument Landing System (ILS) which automatically guides the a/c to a safe & smooth landing even in extremes of weather & climate. So,gone r those scary days.

Answer 10

Skill, knowledge and a little luck.
Normally, the bigger the A/C the easier it is to land. Lighter A/C are more effected by wind conditions especially in the flair