Reading the opening to Surendra's post about 121 air carriers that
prescribe switching controls at DH/MDA ... I must add that this procedure
has been used successfully at Southwest Airlines from day-1.
When the reported weather at the destination is "poor", crews are
expected to brief and fly a "Company Procedures" approach. The weather
criteria specified for this are:
ILS -- Visibility less than 4000 RVR or 3/4 mi.
Non-Precision -- Ceiling less than 1000 or Visibility less than 3 mi.
Please note that under "Company Procedures", the crew is obligated to use
all suitable features of both the autopilot and flight director systems.
If either the autopilot or flight director systems are degraded, then ILS
approaches are restricted to a DH based on LOC/GS-Inoperative minimums.
Crews are urged to turn control of the aircraft over to the FO early
enough in the approach to enable him/her to be comfortable with the
aircraft under the conditions being encountered. The crew briefs and
expects that at DH or the MAP, if the Captain determines that a safe
landing can be made, the Captain will take control of the aircraft and
announce "landing". At that time the FO becomes the MP (monitoring
pilot).
The rationale for this procedure is to enable the Captain to be free from
the physical (and mental) demands of flying for as long as possible, so
that his/her SA and assessment of the factors effecting the landing will
be as good as possible.
The only exception to having the FO fly a "Company Procedures" approach
is in cases of "Emergency"; i.e., with an engine shut down, flight
control malfunction, etc. In those cases, the Captain WILL fly the plane,
regardless of the weather conditions on the approach.
Regarding "Go Around": If the aircraft is outside specific parameters
(airspeed, sink rate, touchdown point, etc.) or not in a position to
execute a safe landing, pilots are expected to execute a Go Around.
The Go Around decision rests with the Captain, except in the case of
incapacitation (a regular training event at Southwest). The physical
execution of the Go Around may be performed by either pilot.
Does this address "the rogue", the pilot who will try to force the
landing even when it is outside safe parameters? Yes. All pilots are
aware of these standards and Captains understand that their decisions
must be based on compliance with the standards. Any pilot, including
Captains, who operates outside the standards will be subject to
discipline -- up to and including termination.
I know that this is not "the answer" for all organizations, but it works
well for Southwest.