Another regional jet crash
I'm sure there's a sort of point of no return moment where they have to commit to the landing.
Student pilots practice 'touch & gos' all the time. Adding full power within the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the runway (unless the wings were in a full stall) would have made it easy to initiate a go-around.
There are really only three things that forces a pilot to commit to a landing:
1. A dead engine or one incapable of developing the needed thrust. (duh)
2. Obstacles ahead that would be impossible to clear even at a maximum rate of climb.
3. Loss of input signals or mechanical damage to the control surfaces that would make a climb out impossible.
(likely to become more of a crash than a landing)
Though not very likely, Point #3 could possibly have been a factor in the Delta RJ crash landing. Most modern commercial aircraft are
indirectly coupled to the control surfaces using electronic signals which actuate hydraulic units that move control surfaces. Had there been some sort of glitch seconds before the touch down, it may have affected the pilot's ability to flare (raise the nose) which is absolutely needed stop the descent and slow the aircraft for landing. During the entire landing approach the pilot is managing his airspeed & altitude by reducing the thrust (engine power) to descend, while he pitches the nose up or down (by means of the elevator) to control his airspeed. (Remember: Pitch for airspeed; Power for altitude)
From what I saw in that landing video it appears that the pilot
did pull the nose up a second or two prior to impacting the ground. But that would have been much too late to arrest his high rate of descent. As noted in an earlier post, the black box will record the pilot's control inputs and the response by the actuators/control surfaces. They will know if he had the
ability to control the aircraft all the way to the ground.