Tales From The Desk of Captain Alan Carter
In the April 2011 issue of Airliner World Captain Alan Carter concluded recounting his day’s task of flying pilgrims from Baghdad to Madinah and back.
In Part 1 Captain Alan Carter explained how the procedures in carrying a load of 420 passengers in a Boeing 747-400 from Baghdad in Iraq to Madinah (Medina) in Saudi Arabia were not as simple as they may be flying between major cities in Europe. The last article finished as the aircraft climbed away from Baghdad’s International Airport. Captain Carter continues his story here.
With a frequency change to Baghdad Radar, we checked in with the American controller and were instructed to “Turn left, heading 220 degrees and continue climbing to 7,000ft.” Passing 3,000ft above ground level, the Vertical Navigation (VNAV) mode of the Flight Management System (FMS) lowers the aircraft’s nose, reducing the pitch attitude to command a constant acceleration. This enables us to retract the trailing and leading edge flaps and climb away at our optimum clean climb speed until reaching 12,000ft, an altitude considered safer for levelling off or climbing through when contemplating the hazards that could be fired up at us from the ground.
Over my left shoulder I could see that the eastern horizon was turning from a deep magenta to orange as the sun rose beyond the city of Baghdad; ahead though, the sky was still pitch black. Following the recommendations from the Iraq Air Pilot manual, we would keep all external and cabin lights off until passing a minimum of 12,000ft. The departure from Baghdad is initially regulated by American controllers who give us radar vectors around any airspace with military activity both on the ground and in the air. This is why every departure is different. At the higher levels, Air Traffic Control (ATC) seems to be shared by a mix of American and Arabic controllers.
Our clearance to FL280 and direct routing to the reporting point at Murib will be the final clearance within Baghdad airspace. This position is the boundary between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and once identified by Jeddah radar control we will be cleared to FL330, the highest level for us on this route. Prior to entering Saudi airspace and being released by Baghdad radar, using our second VHF radio box, we attempt to establish two way radio communications with Jeddah. I am not sure if it is a requirement, but it is certainly a courtesy and the ‘method’ of control in this region. A quick call of our ETA at the boundary Murib and our Flight Level is all that is required.
When we have been positively identified by Jeddah Radar by squawking ident on our transponder, we are cleared to climb to FL330 as expected, but also given a change to our routing. With this being the first Hajj flight to Madinah for us, Jeddah very kindly clears us to the PMA VOR, which is 400 miles to the south of our position and located at Madinah itself, so, in effect, direct to our destination saving almost 20 minutes of flight time.
Levelling off at our final cruise altitude, I manually select a speed in the VNAV cruise page of M.84 and with the prevailing winds, this gives us a groundspeed of just over 530kt. Now we have time to enjoy breakfast offered to us by our fabulous Tunisian cabincrew. A welcome cup of coffee compliments a chance to relax and enjoy our surroundings as the autopilot steers us towards our destination. For the next 40 minutes the view from our ‘office’ is one of only desert interspersed with rocky canyons and spectacular volcanic structures.
I constantly tell my younger colleagues never to be blasé about the views from outside and to treat them as our most important perk of the job. At night I am often to be found with my arms crossed on the glare-shield, casually supporting my head as I stare in wonder at the truly spectacular Milky Way above me, or with my head swivelling across the entire periphery of my visible horizon, like a highly charged tennis umpire as I navigate our way between lines of thunderstorms bearing down on our aircraft.
Deserts are not just vast expanses of yellow sand; they are a living entity but shaped by nature. I used to traverse the Sahara on a north south track when flying the Douglas DC-10-30F between Paris and Lagos for Avient. The desert’s vastness was never lost on me and I was happy to be crossing it at a speed which left eight miles of it behind me every minute.
Earlier in my career, I would spend every other week for five years traversing the Gobi desert from east to west in far greater comfort than its much earlier conqueror, Genghis Khan. I would gaze down from the comfort of my Korean Airlines B747-400 freighter flight deck, I would wonder at the beauty of the desert and the impossibly hard lives of those living in Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar.
Only two years ago I was fortunate to see the Nubian desert of Central Africa, another spectacular vista. I sat in the relative comfort of my B737NG as I operated flights from Eritrea to Chad, passing by the camps of Darfur and the horrors which they held within.
For now, the view from 33,000 feet heading towards Madinah as we approached this Holy of Holy cities was a change in terrain of an empty sandy sea to one of rocky, often volcanic outcrops and increasingly fertile areas.
After several frequency changes, Jeddah ATC handed us over to Madinah Approach and with the flat desert floor giving way to hills rising to over 7,000ft, we were given radar vectors towards a final approach onto the northerly runway at Madinah’s airport.
Having received the latest Air Traffic Information Service (ATIS), we could programme the FMS for the runway in use, calculating our landing weight which would allow us to determine the required landing flap and Vref (final approach speed). With about ten minutes to go before top of descent, I completed a landing briefing highlighting our intentions for both a successful approach and landing and also what our plans would be in case we had to carry out a missed approach and divert. Today our diversion airport was Jeddah, about 30 minutes south of Madinah. I programmed the route to this airport into the secondary ‘Route’ in the FMS. Noting that we still had enough fuel on-board to fly back to Baghdad should we wish to do so.
It is always the job of the pilots to second guess, to plan for every eventuality and the systems on board the B747-400 allowed us to do this. I was taught by Training Captains, colleagues much wiser than I will ever be, to always plan ahead. One concept always sticks in my mind…. ‘Always have a plan….it does not necessarily have to be the most correct plan (it can always be adjusted)….but always have a plan.’ Wise words indeed. When you see a pilot staring off into space on the flight deck, he may be day dreaming. More often than not he or she will be considering what to do for a variety of scenarios, be they engine failures, any type of fire, or even a possible medical emergency.
With the briefing understood and the descent checks complete, we request descent, the FMS backing up our decision by indicating that VNAV has calculated that we need to select a lower level/altitude in 11 miles. We always check the altitude ATC clears us to against our current safety altitude, especially when operating into unfamiliar airports, and having at least one Navigation Display (ND) selected to Terrain feature (TERR) enhances our situational awareness as we have a ‘virtual’ 3D map of our immediate vicinity, built from a worldwide database and linked into the GPS.
Passing 10,000ft we have some memory checks to do; they are not part of an official checklist, but revolve around airmanship primarily. So I ask for the inboard landing lights to be turned on, next my co-pilot checks the Inertial Reference System (IRS) positions against raw data, VOR/DME information, to ensure that our navigation system functions correctly. It’s also a good idea to warn the cabincrew by making a PA announcement that they have “ten minutes to go until landing.”
Looking through the right hand side windows I can see the airport come into view, the two runways aligned like a seafarer’s pair of compasses. Though nowadays only Runway 35 is operational, the other one, designated Runway 36, is now just used as either a taxiway or for extra parking during the busy Hajj period.
Slowing down from 250kt, we configure the aircraft for the initial approach, selecting flaps 1, and then flaps 5, followed by flaps 10 and on the MCP a speed of 180kt. Our altimeters are indicating that we are passing 7,000ft, descending to our cleared altitude of 5,500ft; but we are actually much lower than that as Madinah airport sits on a plain 2,100ft above sea level. Adjusting our rate of descent using the Vertical speed selector on the MCP allows us to attempt to fly a Continuous Descent Approach (CDA), both for noise abatement considerations and economy, but more importantly to me this means that the descent path is being carefully monitored and the approach is constantly stabilised.
Turning onto base leg I can see the Holy City straight ahead of us, the huge structure of the main mosque clearly apparent towards the city centre. With our final radar vector we turn onto a north westerly heading and are cleared to establish on the ILS for Runway 35; and with the CDA working out we establish onto the localiser and shortly after the glideslope, ten miles from the runway.
The final configuration now requires arming the speed-brakes so that they automatically deploy on touchdown; this can be checked on the Upper EICAS by locating the ‘Speedbrake Armed’ status message. Then “gear down, flaps 20 please,” I call. Monitoring my colleague’s actions with this selection configured, I request the landing flap setting of 30 degrees and the landing checklist.
With this complete, Madinah Radar advises us to call the Tower frequency, which clears us to land, stating that the wind is calm, a truly beautiful day with a fabulous view of the mountain ridge northwest of the airport rising majestically out of the desert.
The marked upslope of the runway giving us the perspective that we appear to be high on the approach and passing 1,500ft above the ground, I disconnect the autopilot and auto throttle and fly manually. Crossing the runway threshold at 50ft, I start the flare manoeuvre by slightly raising the nose a couple of degrees, arresting the descent rate, and we touch down.
The speed-brakes automatically deploy and I select reverse idle and lower the nose wheel onto the runway. No need for any braking as we need to roll to the end of the 3,800m long runway, passing 60kt, I stow the reversers and allow the aircraft to slow to 10kt to allow us to make the 90 degree turn off of the runway and onto the taxiway that will take us to the airport terminal.
As I taxi down the long parallel taxiway, my co-pilot completes the after landing scan, selecting the flaps up as I stow the speed-brakes and reconfiguring the switches and starting the APU. Three minutes after cancelling reverse thrust I ask for the number 2 and number 3 engines to be shut down; this reduces the need to use the brakes, ensuring that they stay cool.
As we approach the terminal complex, I realise how much smaller this airport is compared to Jeddah – a problem when the Hajj pilgrimage is in full flow, as sometimes you have to keep your passengers onboard for an hour or so until they are allowed to disembark, because of congestion in the terminal. Not today though, as there are only a handful of Saudia aircraft on the parking stands.
Locating our parking position and following the marshaller’s instructions, we slowly approach our gate and as he crosses his arms I stop our aircraft and set the parking brake. With the hydraulic panel reconfigured to ensure that we have a supply pressurising the brakes, I shut down the remaining number 1 and 4 engines and ask for the shutdown checklist.
This sector is over and now the fun begins as we prepare for the activities involved during the turnaround of a Hajj flight. Great fun and I consider it a privilege to be allowed to do what I do. In four hours, I hope to be back in Baghdad….Inshallah!
Hajj Flying
I have flown for ‘career’ airlines such as Dan-Air and Virgin Atlantic; yes they were great fun, in their day. However, for true variety, contracting cannot be beaten. I would never have been to cities like Tashkent, Asmara, Entebbe or Baghdad, or met countless wonderful and colourful characters. Though there are downsides to contracting also, which is a subject that warrants a whole article on its own. My current agency, Zenon, placed me with my contract and has exceeded all my expectations in looking after me, very important when away in sometimes hostile regions. Like most things these days you need to shop around and listen to other people’s personal experiences as I did.