Solving Bad Setups
While reading [William G.] Bozin’s April 2014 AeroSafety World editorial (“Stable Approach Criteria and Go-Arounds”), a question came to mind: Of all the very significant effort that has been put into examining unstable approaches, and developing stable-approach criteria, I can’t recall seeing an analysis of what factors outside the cockpit may set up an unstable approach.
As a [U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations] Part 121 captain, I quite frequently shake my head in frustration when air traffic control (ATC) is the sole factor in finding myself in a bind when it comes to establishing a stable approach by my airline’s criteria.
The number of ATC units in the United States and internationally that require the airplane to maintain altitudes and/or airspeeds that work against executing a well-planned, safe, stable approach is increasing.
I don’t doubt the cause of much of this is political (noise complaints), but some is not. A great exampl…
