Things that look scary but have an explanation

What are those bangs and roars when we land?

The landing was loud and bumpy. Was it a bad landing?

The thump is the main gear touching down. Almost immediately the ground spoilers pop up on the wings, dumping lift so the weight is firmly on the wheels. Then the nose lowers with a second, smaller bump.

The roar is the thrust reversers, which redirect fan air forward to help slow the aircraft at high speed. Wheel brakes (often in automatic mode) do the rest. Reversers are usually stowed again by walking pace.

A firm landing is not a bad landing. On wet or short runways pilots often want a positive touchdown to engage the spoilers and brakes promptly. A soft touchdown can mean extra floating down the runway.

A little deeper

Anti-skid systems modulate the brakes hundreds of times a second. Autobrake settings let crews pick a deceleration rate before landing.

Spoilers also help the brakes work: without lift, the wheels grip. Flaps are retracted after the aircraft has slowed, which sometimes adds a whirring sound.

Reverse thrust is not required for every landing and is not used to back up. It is optional on many runways and is reduced for noise where permitted.

See it in Gate 41, in the outside view

Related questions

• What are those thumps and whirrs under the floor?
• Why does the wing seem to come apart?
• Why do the engines change sound?

People involved

• Captain Imani OkaforCaptain (pilot in command)
• First Officer Mateo AlvarezFirst officer (co-pilot)
• Ruth KowalskiAir traffic controller