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Hiding in Plain Sight

After you fly enough approaches, they all start looking pretty similar. Is that your brain working for or against you? Or both?

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Pilots often rely on cognitive shortcuts that can lead to complacency and overlooking critical, subtle deviations in instrument procedures due to expectation bias.
  • Examples like the Gunnison GPS-B (old, circling-only with a dangerously steep descent angle) and Teterboro's ILS Z (mandatory "at" altitudes and "at-or-below" hold-downs for deconfliction) illustrate how seemingly minor differences can pose significant operational challenges.
  • Thorough, "spot-the-difference" approach briefings are crucial to actively identify and understand unusual procedure characteristics, preventing errors caused by assuming familiarity.
See a mistake? Contact us.

We recently heard an eye-opening tale of an approach into Gunnison, Colorado (KGUC), in which a jet crew flew the GPS-B approach in instrument conditions with a planned landing into the wind on Runway 24, but found themselves unexpectedly struggling with the approach. At first glance the approach looked to the crew to be a fairly typical non-precision RNAV approach, but what do you think? Pause here and see if you catch any subtle warning flags before continuing. 

We know that every instrument procedure must be unique, since the specifics of the airport, traffic flow, and obstacle environment are all unique. However, in practice many of the approaches appear similar at first glance—and many times they are indeed more similar than different. 

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