http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=2012789
You’d think as a commercial airline pilot your arm falling off the control yoke would be something you’d be *very* keen to avoid, not a thing that needed a bit more effort to get right.
A report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the captain was manually flying the aircraft at the time but, as he made the final manoeuvre, ‘his prosthetic limb became detached from the yoke clamp, depriving him of control of the aircraft’.
It said although the pilot had thought about getting his co-pilot to take control, he decided that due to time pressures and the challenging conditions, his best course of action was to move his right hand from the power levers on to the yoke to regain control.
“He did this, but with power still applied and possibly a gust affecting the aircraft, a normal touchdown was followed by a bounce, from which the aircraft landed heavily,” said the report.
The AAIB said in future the captain had said he would be more cautious about checking his prosthetic lower left arm was securely attached to the clamp used to fly the aircraft, with the latching device in place.
