Safety Topics

Abstract

A TriStar was inbound to Leeds/Bradford and on first contact with the aircraft, the controller at the airport reported the present weather which included a visibility of 7,000 metres, wind velocity 210°/7 knots and recent rain showers, he also advised that the runway in use was 14 and that the surface was wet. Although the captain had the runway in sight at 7 miles, he elected to fly a surveillance radar approach and was accordingly advised by the controller of the touchdown elevation and that the glide slope for runway 14 was 3½°. The approach was normal and at 2 miles from touchdown the captain notified the radar controller that he was continuing visually. The aircraft changed to tower frequency on which the controller passed the current surface wind of 210°/7 knots and cleared the aircraft to land. The captain stated afterwards that he used radar talk‐down heights to establish his glide path and confirmed it by the Precision Approach Path Indicators (PAPIs) which consistently showed two whites and two reds until the last 200 feet, when he deliberately descended into one white and three reds so as to use the maximum runway length.

Citation

Mayday (1985), "Safety Topics", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 57 No. 9, pp. 23-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb036166