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MY FS FLIGHTS
Flight Score
Arrival
Make one smooth, continuous back-pressure through the flare to about 4.2° nose-up, holding it steady rather than pumping the elevator before touchdown.
What happened: The flare was pumped, with pitch reversing several times as the sink was most arrested at 12 ft; pumped flares like this usually carry through to a firm touchdown, which happened here at 299 fpm.
Watch for: Attitude indicator: hold a steady nose-up pitch of 4.2° through the flare, smoothly to touchdown.
Arrive slow and the sink rate at the threshold is already above schedule, the flare is short because there is no energy to extend it, and the touchdown is hard in a way that feels exactly like a late flare. Diagnosing a slow arrival as a late flare is the catastrophic misread: you respond by flaring earlier, which bleeds more speed, which makes the next one worse. The tiebreaker is threshold speed against VRef, not feel. Never diagnose a flare without it.
Read more in Flare TimingStart to finish · 22 stages, 20 scored
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The threshold, the flare and the hold-off. The approach that led to it is the stabilisation gates below.
One stabilised approach gate: seven checks where the approach path is 500 ft above the runway. The 1,000 ft gate was not assessed, because the approach did not join final that far out.
At the 500 ft gate: off the runway's 3.2° glideslope.
The approach, gate by gate
Side view — the last 5,464 ft of the approach.
Plan view — the first 5,464 ft of the 10,527 ft runway, to the same scale as the side view.
Touched down 2,611 ft past the threshold — beyond the full-score zone. The arrival was smooth.
The rest of the report
The flight began with a taxiing period from the parking to the runway, which took 23 minutes and covered a distance of 5 nautical miles. The aircraft, an Airbus A350-900, then departed from runway 25R at Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX). The takeoff distance was 4,867 feet, which accounted for 44% of the runway. The liftoff speed was 157 knots.
The local weather conditions at the time of departure were characterized by a temperature of 62°F and a wind speed of 4 knots at 210°. The crosswind was 3 knots, while the headwind was 2 knots. As the aircraft took off, it began its enroute climb, which started overhead KLAX. The climb took the aircraft from an altitude of 1,108 feet above sea level to 38,000 feet, an increase of 36,892 feet, in 31 minutes and covering a distance of 185 nautical miles.
Following the initial climb, the aircraft entered a level cruise phase, which lasted for 175 minutes and covered a distance of 1,209 nautical miles. The cruise phase started 109 miles southwest of San Nicolas Island Nolf Airport (KNSI). The aircraft then began another climb, this time from 37,996 feet to 40,000 feet, an increase of 2,004 feet, in just 3 minutes and covering a distance of 25 nautical miles. The climb phase started at a location defined by latitude 20.2591933 and longitude -139.31255.
The aircraft then entered another level cruise phase, which lasted for 430 minutes and covered a distance of 3,279 nautical miles. This phase started at a location defined by latitude 19.985597 and longitude -139.6748325. As the aircraft continued its journey, it began its descent phase, which started 26 miles west of Labasa Airport (NFNL) in Fiji. The descent took the aircraft from an altitude of 40,000 feet to 11,993 feet, a decrease of 28,007 feet, in 14 minutes and covering a distance of 97 nautical miles.
The aircraft then entered another level cruise phase, which lasted for 2 minutes and covered a distance of 8 nautical miles. This phase started 11 miles northwest of Ba in Fiji. The aircraft then began another descent phase, which started 19 miles north of Lautoka in Fiji. The descent took the aircraft from an altitude of 11,999 feet to 4,480 feet, a decrease of 7,519 feet, in 8 minutes and covering a distance of 41 nautical miles.
The aircraft then entered another level cruise phase, which lasted for 2 minutes and covered a distance of 4 nautical miles. This phase started 6 miles southeast of Nadi in Fiji. The aircraft then began its final descent phase, which started 5 miles east of Nadi International Airport (NFFN). The descent took the aircraft from an altitude of 4,505 feet to 685 feet, a decrease of 3,819 feet, in 3 minutes and covering a distance of 8 nautical miles.
The final approach to runway 20 at NFFN was made from the northeast, with a heading of 212.0° at 1 nautical mile and 630 feet above ground level. The landing was made on the runway, which had a length of 10,527 feet. The threshold height was good, but the threshold speed was slightly above the target at 129 knots. The touchdown point was 1,247 feet beyond the touchdown zone, with a touchdown speed of 117 knots, which was good. However, the touchdown rate was fair at -289 feet per minute.
The runway touchdown position was significantly misaligned by 66 feet from the centerline.
The Airbus A350-900 aircraft successfully landed at Nadi International Airport, Fiji, on runway 20. The final approach was initiated from the north-east, heading 212.0° at 1 nautical mile and 630 feet above ground level (agl). The aircraft maintained a good threshold height, which is a crucial aspect of a safe landing.
Upon touchdown, the aircraft's speed was slightly above the target threshold speed of 129 kt, registering at 129 kt. The touchdown point was 1,247 feet beyond the touchdown zone, which is a relatively long distance. However, the touchdown speed of 117 kt was within the acceptable range, indicating a good control of the aircraft during the landing phase. The touchdown rate of -289 feet per minute (fpm) was fair, suggesting that the aircraft could have been brought down more smoothly.
One of the notable issues with this landing was the significant misalignment of the runway touchdown position, which was 66 feet off the centreline. This could have been due to various factors, including wind conditions or pilot error. The local weather conditions at the time of landing were relatively calm, with a temperature of 77°F and a wind speed of 2 kt at 108°. The crosswind and tailwind components were minimal, at 2 kt and 1 kt, respectively.
The total landing distance of 5,200 feet was 49% of the runway length, which is a relatively high percentage. This could be attributed to the long distance beyond the touchdown zone and the significant misalignment of the runway touchdown position. The runway rollout alignment was also significantly misaligned by 102 feet from the centreline, which could have contributed to the overall landing distance.
Overall, while the landing was successful, there were some areas for improvement, particularly in terms of runway alignment and touchdown point distance. The pilots could have worked on maintaining a more precise approach and touchdown, which would have resulted in a shorter landing distance and better runway alignment.
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