Wheres that Runway?

Its the end of a long day filled of uncooperative weather, ground stops, and a diversion tossed in to make it interesting. Youre shooting the non-precision (of course) GPS approach, and upon reaching minimums, you look up and see … nothing. Wait a minute! Isnt that a PAPI glowing out of the left side of your window? Is that your runway? If so, whats it doing all the way over there?

IFR Staff

Sunday, March 11, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots can become disoriented during straight-in approaches at minimums if the runway appears significantly off-center upon breakout.
This "offset sight picture" can be caused by the final approach course being intentionally misaligned with the runway (due to obstacles, terrain, etc.) or by a strong crosswind requiring a substantial crab angle.
To mitigate disorientation, pilots should proactively brief the expected runway location by comparing the final approach course to the runway heading, checking for offset notes on charts, and considering the effects of crosswinds.

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It’s the end of a long day filled of uncooperative weather, ground stops, and a diversion tossed in to make it interesting. You’re shooting the non-precision (of course) GPS approach, and upon reaching minimums, you look up and see … nothing. Wait a minute! Isn’t that a PAPI glowing out of the left side of your window? Is that your runway? If so, what’s it doingall the way over there?

This was the experience that a reader shared with us about flying the GPS RWY 12R approach into the North Las Vegas airport (KVGT). (See Readback, “Not There, but Over There.)”