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B737NG captain reported executing a go-around at bwi when the rain became very heavy near touchdown.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1391410 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201609 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | BWI.Airport |
| State Reference | MD |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737 Next Generation Undifferentiated |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Windshield Wiper System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 179 Flight Crew Type 19000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
Heavy rain was reported at bwi. With ceiling and visibility well above CAT I; we briefed and [the] first officer flew [the] ILS. Approach was excellent and approach lights were in sight by 400 feet AGL. First officer called for the windshield wipers and I selected them to 'low'. As we got closer to the runway the rain intensity increased so I selected the wipers to 'high'. The first officer's wipers went to high speed but my wiper remained at low speed. As a result; I intermittently saw only a blurry image of the runway lights as we crossed the threshold. I looked across the cockpit and saw that the first officer had a better view but the heavy rain was causing him some problems. I looked through the HUD and saw the radar altimeter stabilized at 9 feet and I realized we were landing long. I could see we were between the lights but I knew we were long and I wasn't sure how far down the runway we had progressed; so I called for a go-around. The first officer complied immediately. We touched down briefly but the go-around was otherwise normal. We returned for a second approach; this time flying a CAT III ILS. Despite the slower wipers on my side of the cockpit; the second approach and landing were uneventful.if available; a CAT III approach might be the best option in heavy rain regardless of the ceiling and visibility.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737NG Captain reported executing a go-around at BWI when the rain became very heavy near touchdown.
Narrative: Heavy rain was reported at BWI. With ceiling and visibility well above CAT I; we briefed and [the] First Officer flew [the] ILS. Approach was excellent and approach lights were in sight by 400 feet AGL. First Officer called for the windshield wipers and I selected them to 'low'. As we got closer to the runway the rain intensity increased so I selected the wipers to 'high'. The First Officer's wipers went to high speed but my wiper remained at low speed. As a result; I intermittently saw only a blurry image of the runway lights as we crossed the threshold. I looked across the cockpit and saw that the First Officer had a better view but the heavy rain was causing him some problems. I looked through the HUD and saw the radar altimeter stabilized at 9 feet and I realized we were landing long. I could see we were between the lights but I knew we were long and I wasn't sure how far down the runway we had progressed; so I called for a go-around. The First Officer complied immediately. We touched down briefly but the go-around was otherwise normal. We returned for a second approach; this time flying a CAT III ILS. Despite the slower wipers on my side of the cockpit; the second approach and landing were uneventful.If available; a CAT III Approach might be the best option in heavy rain regardless of the ceiling and visibility.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.