Not to doubt your experience, but why would the captain "warn everyone
beforehand" of a visual approach? In my short career as as professional
pilot I've flown visuals into Thessaloniki, Hamburg and Tripoli and we
certainly didn't think it necessary to "warn" anyone.

Mike


Mike,

My life has been in corporate aviation, but I ride in excess of
100,000 mi/year on the airlines. It really doesn't make a difference
which aircraft I'm in, there are always some white-knuckle types in
the back. I imagine that this crew and many of the passengers have
for years made straight-in approaches to LGB. Even with the warning,
you could hear the concerns from many as the roof tops zoomed past the
right windows. Something was not normal and they kew it.

I can tell you that even though we had seasoned passengers, we used to
warn the pax prior to going into the old Hong Kong airport. Why? It
was just the courtous thing to do. Was there some requirement for us
gods in the cockpit have to do it? Hell no.

For my part, I appreciate it when the pilots understand what their job
is all about. It isn't just getting a machine from point A to B; the
autopilot can handle that. The real reason we have a job is to
provide safe, efficient, and pleasurable transportation to the folks
that pay for us to have fun in the front.
don