Boeing-727 (Number: N7017U) crew Captain: B C Thomas, First Officer: Bill Loewe, Second Officer: Greg Hammes, September 28, 1992. The aircraft landed at Meigs Field, Chicago to be an exhibit for the Museum of Science and Industry.
Why the airplane bounced on landing, from the pilot, BC Thomas:
I was an AF pilot for 22 years, flew numerous airplanes including the KC-135, RB-57F, U-2, F-104, and SR-71. I am a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School. I have just over 1,000 hours of combat flying time in C-130s in the Vietnam War. The latter may have been the reason my boss chose me to fly the Meigs delivery. It was not my idea.
Meigs’ runway length was just over 3,000 feet with Lake Michigan as the overrun. Dispatch had erroneously put about 12,000 pounds more fuel than I requested (they were working off of some standard fuel load, which I did not want). There was about a 15-knot gusty crosswind from the left, and as you can tell from the video, the aircraft responded sluggishly with full flaps. I knocked off 10 knots from the published approach speed (standard short-field landing procedure) which, in retrospect, due to the gusts, was a mistake because as I attempted to “flare,” the airplane just continued to the runway and was subjected to the bounce and the crosswind. If I had it to do over, I would not have reduced the approach speed. I completed the landing roll in just under 2,000 feet from the approach end.
There are thousands of people each year who visit the magnificent display in the museum, which is a tribute to United Airlines. I have not received any remuneration or accolade for this flight or video, but it is part of the record and deserves to be seen by anyone interested.
