Pic courtesy of Kuching International Airport FB
by Yong Soo Heong
I thought I could “sail” into Kuching from KLIA within the scheduled one hour and 50 minutes (or even earlier) via a Malaysia Airlines B737-800 aircraft about a week ago (Friday, May 24, 2024).
But flight MH2536, which lifted off an hour later in the mid-afternoon due to earlier timing issues, took another hour longer to land than originally scheduled. Why?
It was because the two pilots on that flight decided to sit out the feisty thunderstorm and encircled Santubong more than a dozen times ( I lost count, actually) just about 60km away from Kuching.
The pilots gave top priority to safety rather than heroics!
When the aircraft slowed down its encircling, this thought entered my mind: how much fuel does the plane have left? Luckily it had enough or else I wouldn’t be writing this!
I must say that MAS Ada Sistem, especially in light of increasing cases of turbulence of late.
The primary reason why pilots usually don’t want to land in bad weather is safety. I am glad that Malaysia Airlines upholds this principle religiously.
Bad weather conditions, such as heavy rain or strong winds, can significantly increase the risk of accidents during landing as they lead to poor visibility, making it difficult for pilots to see the runway or other aircraft. While pilots are trained to rely on their instruments, avoiding bad weather when possible is still the safer option.
Again, every aircraft has its operational limits, and exceeding these limits can cause loss of control or structural damage to the aircraft, which is mighty dangerous.
Syabas, Malaysia Airlines!
WE