Tight Circle

Circling an airport after an instrument approach procedure (IAP) to land on a runway other than the one aligned with the IAP is something all instrument-rated pilots have practiced. Its a maneuver that places an airplane relatively close to the ground-sometimes at half the traffic-pattern altitude-and can require steeply banked turns.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Tuesday, July 21, 2015 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Circling-to-land maneuvers after instrument approaches are inherently risky due to low altitudes, potential steep banks increasing stall speed, and poor weather, creating a recipe for fatal stall-spin accidents.
A 2013 fatal accident involving a circle-to-land maneuver was caused by the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while aggressively banking in and out of clouds in gusty tailwind conditions, leading to an aerodynamic stall.
To mitigate risks, pilots performing circle-to-land maneuvers should maintain adequate airspeed, avoid aggressive turns, and execute a missed approach if visual contact with the runway is lost or conditions become unsafe.

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Circling an airport after an instrument approach procedure (IAP) to land on a runway other than the one aligned with the IAP is something all instrument-rated pilots have practiced. It’s a maneuver that places an airplane relatively close to the ground—sometimes at half the traffic-pattern altitude—and can require steeply banked turns.

Of course, steep banks close to the ground are an invitation for a stall-spin accident when the vertical lift component is traded for the horizontal. Since circling is usually performed in poor weather, it can be a busy time: In addition to keeping the airport and intended runway in sight, pilots must also maneuver the airplane at a relatively low speed. Of course, slow airspeeds, steep banks and low altitudes are the recipe for fatal stall-spin accidents. There just isn’t enough altitude to recover.