Black-Hole Approach

For the last few years, my home airport has been a private, paved and lighted strip in a rural area. The pilot-controlled lighting is non-standard, however. For one, the systems intensity is relatively weak. For another, there seem to be fewer runway lights than at most other airports Ive used. And the light fixtures themselves seem located farther from the pavement than Im accustomed. Often, there are few other ground lights in the area to help provide perspective at night. The runway does not have a rotating beacon, only a dimly lit windsock that may or may not tell the truth. There are few obstructions in the area above a couple of hundred feet, although theres a tall tower about five miles north.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Thursday, March 22, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

The paint scheme on the DA50 RG was created from a design competition—the winning design by Kirk Smith. Courtesy Diamond Aircraft

Key Takeaways:

Black-hole approaches, caused by dim or non-standard runway lighting and a lack of surrounding "cultural lighting," create an optical illusion that distorts depth perception, making pilots perceive themselves as higher than they actually are, often leading to dangerously premature or steep descents.
A fatal 2016 accident involving experienced pilots at Slidell Municipal Airport was attributed by the NTSB to an unstable approach in black-hole conditions, compounded by pilot complacency, inadequate crew monitoring, and the failure to use the available visual glidepath indicator (PAPI).
To mitigate the risks of black-hole illusions, pilots must maintain disciplined approach techniques, rigorously cross-check instruments, ensure active crew monitoring, and always utilize available visual approach aids like PAPIs, as even experienced pilots are susceptible to these optical illusions.

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For the last few years, my home airport has been a private, paved and lighted strip in a rural area. The pilot-controlled lighting is non-standard, however. For one, the system’s intensity is relatively weak. For another, there seem to be fewer runway lights than at most other airports I’ve used. And the light fixtures themselves seem located farther from the pavement than I’m accustomed. Often, there are few other ground lights in the area to help provide perspective at night. The runway does not have a rotating beacon, only a dimly lit windsock that may or may not tell the truth. There are few obstructions in the area above a couple of hundred feet, although there’s a tall tower about five miles north.

I’ve flown in there at night several times and I’ll do it again several more times. But I don’t like it. The combination of dim, non-standard lighting and the lack of nearby ground illumination—what the NTSB calls cultural lighting—pretty much defines the so-called black-hole approach, the kind where depth perception suffers from lack of detail, especially when there are few peripheral details. The human eye just isn’t all that good at night. More light and more lighted objects to help with depth perception are better.