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    Air Pilots - Commercial Air Transport: Safety Briefing Note 09

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    özgür Tanriverdi
    This document provides a safety briefing note on flying circling approaches safely. It begins by defining a circling approach and noting the visual conditions and procedures required. It then discusses examples of improperly flown circling approaches that have resulted in accidents. The discussion section notes the demanding nature of circling approaches and importance of careful planning and following prescribed procedures. It also compares circling area sizes between ICAO and FAA standards. Finally, it provides safety recommendations for aircraft operators and pilots regarding training, authorization and briefing requirements for safely conducting circling approaches.

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    Air Pilots - Commercial Air Transport: Safety Briefing Note 09

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    This document provides a safety briefing note on flying circling approaches safely. It begins by defining a circling approach and noting the visual conditions and procedures required. It then discusses examples of improperly flown circling approaches that have resulted in accidents. The discussion section notes the demanding nature of circling approaches and importance of careful planning and following prescribed procedures. It also compares circling area sizes between ICAO and FAA standards. Finally, it provides safety recommendations for aircraft operators and pilots regarding training, authorization and briefing requirements for safely conducting circling approaches.

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    This document provides a safety briefing note on flying circling approaches safely. It begins by defining a circling approach and noting the visual conditions and procedures required. It then discusses examples of improperly flown circling approaches that have resulted in accidents. The discussion section notes the demanding nature of circling approaches and importance of careful planning and following prescribed procedures. It also compares circling area sizes between ICAO and FAA standards. Finally, it provides safety recommendations for aircraft operators and pilots regarding training, authorization and briefing requirements for safely conducting circling approaches.

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    14 views2 pages

    Air Pilots - Commercial Air Transport: Safety Briefing Note 09

    Uploaded by

    özgür Tanriverdi
    This document provides a safety briefing note on flying circling approaches safely. It begins by defining a circling approach and noting the visual conditions and procedures required. It then discusses examples of improperly flown circling approaches that have resulted in accidents. The discussion section notes the demanding nature of circling approaches and importance of careful planning and following prescribed procedures. It also compares circling area sizes between ICAO and FAA standards. Finally, it provides safety recommendations for aircraft operators and pilots regarding training, authorization and briefing requirements for safely conducting circling approaches.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    The Honourable Company of Air Pilots is the largest City of London Livery Company and the only one

    with a
    global membership. London Livery Companies are charitable specialist professional and trade bodies which,
    where relevant, seek to contribute their entirely independent and impartial expertise to their areas of interest. The
    Air Pilots Commercial Air Transport Team is directly supported by a large network of Company Members who
    review and validate our draft publications before issue.

    If you would like to receive copies of new Safety Briefing Notes direct by email - or stop receiving them - please
    advise this to catcsg1@airpilots.org. All published Notes which continue to be relevant can be consulted at or
    downloaded from https://www.airpilots.org/CATSafetyBriefingNotes/

    AIR PILOTS - COMMERCIAL AIR TRANSPORT


    SAFETY BRIEFING NOTE 09
    [Issued 09 AUGUST 2022]

    FLYING CIRCLING APPROACHES SAFELY


    The Context
    A Circling Approach is only applicable to fixed wing aircraft. It is a visual reference procedure used to
    reach an intended landing runway which, either permanently or temporarily, does not have an available
    instrument approach procedure and has a centreline more than 30° from that of any instrument
    approach initially used. The required visual conditions may or may not be apparent from the METAR.
    Such procedures will begin with a level turn left or right towards downwind not later than reaching the
    circling MDA/MDH. The circling manoeuvre may involve up to a 180° track reversal and, if the airspace
    involved is especially constrained by terrain, restricted airspace or noise abatement considerations, an
    explicit flight track (with a dedicated chart) may be published which will be within a specific “circling
    area” calculated by reference to the distance from the initial approach and landing runway thresholds.
    Notes on the instrument approach chart used for the initial approach will specify the limiting radius of
    the ‘protected area’ within which circling must take place and any airspace sectors excluded from use
    during circling. The initial instrument approach used to reach visual circling altitude/height may be
    based on ground-based navigational aids or be an RNP APCH procedure.
    Where a prescribed circling flight track is defined, the missed approach will also be specified but in
    other cases when circling without a prescribed track has been commenced, if transition to a missed
    approach becomes necessary, it should, in the absence of contrary instructions and subject to
    awareness of terrain/obstacle considerations (which cannot be assured because the position from
    which it might begin is unknown) be commenced with a climbing turn the shortest way to join the
    missed approach procedure of the instrument approach.
    Prescribed circling approach tracks which can be flown by day should be defined by unmistakable
    natural track points and/or by prominent visual markers and if such approaches may also be flown at
    night then appropriately lit markers must be provided to ensure equivalent guidance.
    Some examples of improperly flown Circling Procedures
     A Boeing 737-800 performing prescribed track circling by day at Busan, South Korea in 2019 did
    not follow the procedure and after flying too close to the runway downwind then commenced the
    base turn prematurely which made it difficult to complete the continuous 180° turn onto an already
    very short final approach. Touchdown occurred on the wrong parallel runway which was fortuitously
    unobstructed. The First Officer monitoring the Captain’s flying failed to alert them accordingly.1
     An Airbus A340-600 making a daylight circling approach to Quito, Ecuador in 2007 for which there
    was no prescribed track and for which there was “no evidence that the aircraft operator had planned
    in any detail” despite significant adverse terrain in the circling area, became unstabilised on final
    approach and a high descent rate touchdown with uncorrected drift followed, resulting in significant
    landing gear damage which disabled the aircraft on the runway2.
     A number of fatal accidents have occurred after circling was continued when flight by visual
    reference was no longer possible or after the manoeuvre had become unstabilised. In 2009/2010,
    two fatal accidents of this type in which of over 300 people died occurred, one to an Airbus A310 at
    Moroni, Comores at night3 and the other to an Airbus A321 at Islamabad, Pakistan in daylight4. Both

    1
    see:http://araib.molit.go.kr/LCMS/DWN.jsp?fold=/eaib0401/&fileName=%28AIR1905%29_Aircraft_Serious_Incid
    ent_Report_07_September_2019.pdf
    2
    see: https://www.aviacioncivil.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/10/07-AIRBUS-A-340-600-2.pdf
    3
    see: https://bea.aero/docspa/2009/7o-j090629/pdf/7o-j090629.pdf [only available in French]
    4
    see: https://caapakistan.com.pk/Upload/SIBReports/SIB-337.pdf
    flights failed to remain within the circling area or follow, respectively, the AIP-prescribed or the
    company-recommended circling procedures.
    Discussion
    Circling approaches represent a demanding departure from the straight-in approaches normally flown
    and should be very carefully pre-briefed and flown within the specified airspace and in strict accordance
    with a prescribed circuit track where required. This is especially so where an operator allows their use
    by wide body aircraft which should only occur after thorough training in a suitable full flight simulator
    followed by some line flight check process. It will be particularly important to completely disconnect the
    autopilot before turning base leg if its response to commands in basic mode will be constrained to a
    cruise-like status since this is incompatible with the final stages of visual circling. Unless familiar with a
    potential circling approach, diversion to an alternate may be the better option. Note that the size of a
    circling area and the corresponding maximum manoeuvring speed by aircraft category differs according
    to whether it is defined in accordance with ICAO PANS-OPS or FAA TERPS standards with the latter
    sometimes used outside the USA as well as within it. TERPS uses a significantly smaller circling area
    and a correspondingly slower maximum speed within it than PANS-OPS. For example, TERPS gives a
    Category ‘C’ aircraft a 2.68nm radius area at 145 KIAS maximum speed whereas in PANS-OPS gives a
    4.2 nm radius area at 180 KIAS maximum speed.
    For most pilots, circling approaches will be an infrequent experience and some aircraft operators will
    not permit them to be flown on some or all of their aircraft types on the basis of the cost/benefit of the
    additional training required to maintain safety standards. Those operators who do will usually require
    explicit authorisation for circling approaches which have prescribed track charts based on appropriate
    training for pilots who will act as Pilot Flying and some may also consider that permitting any circling
    approach requires specific initial/recurrent training for one or both pilots. The judgement of when to
    begin the descent from circling altitude/height in order to maintain stabilised flight during the final
    approach is extremely important, especially when descent from circling altitude/height is required during
    a continuous turn from the downwind leg to finals. Finally, the safe completion of circling approaches is
    also especially reliant on effective monitoring of the Pilot Flying by the Pilot Monitoring which requires
    them to have a full understanding of such approaches despite the fact that they may not be approved to
    act as Pilot Flying on such an approach themselves.
    Safety Recommendations
    To Aircraft Operators
     The Operations Manual should make it clear whether individual pilots are permitted to fly or monitor
    circling approaches which do not require a prescribed track to be flown and if so appropriate
    guidance and full flight simulator time should be provided as part of both type conversion and
    recurrent training. It is strongly recommended that a standard generic procedure for this sort of
    circling approach is included in the aircraft type volume of the Operations Manual.
     If the Operations Manual permits pilots to fly prescribed track circling approaches then airports
    where these exist should be categorised and require (whether mandated by regulation, the airport
    or ATC) an appropriate level of practical training/recency for any pilot acting as Pilot Flying.
     It may be appropriate to require that all non-training circling approaches are flown by the aircraft
    commander, although it is in principle preferable for the handling pilot to have landing runway in
    sight throughout the downwind leg. It is vital that any Pilot Monitoring who is not authorised to act as
    Pilot Flying should have received a prior opportunity to experience the corresponding type of circling
    approach before being rostered to operate to an airport where it may be required. This experience
    could be provided either in the simulator or as an observer on a flight to the destination involved.
     Where circling approaches are permitted at night, this should require simulator or on-aircraft
    training/familiarisation in such conditions.
     Where there are a relatively large number of pilots on type and the exposure of individual pilots to
    circling approaches is therefore likely to be low, consideration should be given to forming a sub-
    group of pilots authorised for such approaches.
    To Pilots
     If a circling approach may be necessary at the conclusion of a short haul destination, it is strongly
    recommended that a pre-departure review should be undertaken so that only tactical aspects
    specific to the prevailing conditions will require en-route briefing. A pilot who may have to
    monitoring a circling approach which they are not authorised to fly should, unless their operator
    covers this situation in type training, self brief in advance on such approaches (including prescribed
    track ones if these may be encountered) so as to be able to effectively perform their important role.
     The performance of a stabilised circling manoeuvre in accordance with all applicable aircraft
    operator procedures and in strict accordance with any prescribed track is essential.

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