8:58 they declare mayday because of no landing gear and two minutes later they’re attempting the riskiest landing of their lives? I bet „no landing gear” checklist is a bit longer than two minutes.
You’re right, if the mayday were due to the landing gear not being down they wouldn’t have attempted to land so quickly. There are many things they would try first, and the final failsafe simply drops the landing gear with gravity. If the gear were up, it’s because the crew left the gear up.
The mayday wasn’t about the landing gear.
The mayday was due to a bird strike. They initiated a go-around after the bird strike, and they may have also lost the second engine during the go-around. Perhaps a second bird strike. This would explain the lack of flaps and landing gear: the crew may have been trying to minimize drag to reach the runway without power. Unfortunately they ran out of runway after floating too long due to ground effect and traveling far too quickly.
The incident would likely have been survivable at many airports. That berm with the localizer antena on it is a terrible safety hazard that shouldn’t exist at a major airport.
You’re right, if the mayday were due to the landing gear not being down they wouldn’t have attempted to land so quickly. There are many things they would try first, and the final failsafe simply drops the landing gear with gravity. If the gear were up, it’s because the crew left the gear up.
The mayday wasn’t about the landing gear.
The mayday was due to a bird strike. They initiated a go-around after the bird strike, and they may have also lost the second engine during the go-around. Perhaps a second bird strike. This would explain the lack of flaps and landing gear: the crew may have been trying to minimize drag to reach the runway without power. Unfortunately they ran out of runway after floating too long due to ground effect and traveling far too quickly.
The incident would likely have been survivable at many airports. That berm with the localizer antena on it is a terrible safety hazard that shouldn’t exist at a major airport.