The glideslope pegged. Or failed. Or the winds now favor circling. No, you don’t have to go missed. You just have to move the aircraft back into the safe zone.
Switch-Hitting On the EILS
Pull out your average approach plate for your favorite ILS. What youre looking at is really two approaches that share a piece of paper: the ILS and the localizer-only. Its even stated this way in TERPs: two separate approaches.
Key Takeaways:
- An ILS approach plate actually offers two distinct approaches (ILS and localizer-only), allowing pilots to transition to the non-precision localizer-only option if the glideslope fails or for operational preference.
- The glideslope signal is more susceptible to failure than the localizer; however, protected airspace for the localizer-only approach allows for safe continuation as long as the aircraft remains laterally on course and above the localizer's Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA).
- While technically permissible to switch, some pilots advocate for initiating a missed approach immediately upon glideslope failure due to potential uncertainty, unless a reliable GPS can confirm the integrity of lateral guidance.
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