The dotted blue line shows what would have been a stabilized approach to the landing runway in the May 15, 2017, crash; the yellow line represents the Learjet’s actual path.
Citing 10 accidents, including three fatal accidents with 17 fatalities, in recent years involving circling-to-land approaches, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a safety alert cautioning pilots about the risks inherent in such approaches and recommending action to enhance their safety.
Safety Alert 084, issued in March and directed primarily toward pilots of U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) Part 91 general aviation and Part 135 commuter and on-demand airplanes, cautioned that pilots sometimes do not fully assess the risks of circling approaches before accepting them.
“Circling approaches can be riskier than other types of approaches because they often require man…
