Part 5/8:
As the narrator elaborates, pilots typically focus their attention on the immediate scenery illuminated by their landing lights. Such limited visibility in darkness means they cannot constantly scan the runway for potential threats. When a person unexpectedly appears in the landing zone, the window for a pilot to react diminishes significantly.
Go-Around Procedures
The podcast highlights the critical question: could the pilots have enacted a go-around? The commentary emphasizes that a go-around—an operational procedure where aircraft abort the landing and circle back for another attempt—can be executed at almost any point before selecting thrust reversers. Unfortunately, in this incident, the aircraft was most likely below the decision height and traveling at high speeds.