Looks Can Be Deceiving

One of the best things about an ILS is that you know what youre going to get. The boundaries of TERPS criteria mean they all work pretty much the same: You fly a published altitude to intercept a glideslope, ease down through the amorphous ether toward terra firma and either land or miss.Except for when that is so, so not the case. Take a look at the ILS Runway 16R into Reno/Tahoe (KRNO). On first glance, this is a simple ILS with the primary complication being some obvious terrain in the area. Terrain like that always warrants a close reading of the chart and its notes, usually to find the non-standard climb required if you must fly the missed. Thats not an issue in this case, but there are four other oddities to contend with-one of which is an outright error on the chart.

Editorial Staff

Friday, May 08, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The ILS Runway 16R into Reno/Tahoe (KRNO) is presented as a highly unusual and non-standard approach, challenging the typical predictability of ILS procedures.
Notable oddities include a cold-temperature restriction requiring altitude adjustments below -18°C and an ILS Decision Altitude (DA) nearly 500 feet higher than the Localizer-only Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA), counter-intuitive for an ILS.
A significant charting error is identified, where the missed approach course in the plan view is incorrectly placed south of the runway, despite the DA being reached miles north of the airport.
The article emphasizes that pilots must thoroughly understand approach instructions and their implications to avoid flying by rote when encountering such irregularities.

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One of the best things about an ILS is that you know what you’re going to get. The boundaries of TERPS criteria mean they all work pretty much the same: You fly a published altitude to intercept a glideslope, ease down through the amorphous ether toward terra firma and either land or miss.

Except for when that is so, so not the case. Take a look at the ILS Runway 16R into Reno/Tahoe (KRNO). On first glance, this is a simple ILS with the primary complication being some obvious terrain in the area. Terrain like that always warrants a close reading of the chart and its notes, usually to find the non-standard climb required if you must fly the missed. That’s not an issue in this case, but there are four other oddities to contend with—one of which is an outright error on the chart.