ILS Critical Area

[Stifler's Mom]

I'm trying to gain a better understanding of this airport marking.

When do we need to hold short of the ILS Critical Area? I thought I had read somewhere about a ceiling of 800' or less and/or vis 2 miles or less.

Do we hold short if ILS approaches are being conducted, no matter what the weather is?

Then I was reading an FAA publication, and it said only to hold short of the ILS Critical Area only when instructed to do so by ATC.

Can anybody clear this up for me?

 

[Stifler's Mom]

I'm trying to gain a better understanding of this airport marking.

When do we need to hold short of the ILS Critical Area? I thought I had read somewhere about a ceiling of 800' or less and/or vis 2 miles or less.

Do we hold short if ILS approaches are being conducted, no matter what the weather is?

Then I was reading an FAA publication, and it said only to hold short of the ILS Critical Area only when instructed to do so by ATC.

Can anybody clear this up for me?

OK, think I answered my own question. The highlighted are the correct answers. Yes/No?

 

[mvedepo]

ONLY when instructed to do so. Doesn't matter about weather.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

Now I'm a bit more confused. I did a Google search on ILS Critical Area and found 3 or 4 different sites including AOPA that mention the 2/800 weather.

 

[gangdev]

My airline's FOM says to beware of momentary ILS deviations when the weather is better than 800'-2.
I always assumed this meant that pilots should hold short of the ILS critical area when the weather is below 800'-2, although I think it is still ATC's responsibility to ensure pilots hold short when needed. Still, you aren't busting any regs if you decide to hold short of the critical area out of your own discretion.

 

[Donsa320]

ONLY when instructed to do so. Doesn't matter about weather.

The trouble is there is not always a tower at every ILS equipped airport. Hence the 800/2 rule.

DC

 

[FlyinFife]

AIM 1-1-9 Section K (ILS Course Distortion) discusses the rules regarding this.

1-1-9 K 2 states that ATC will issue instructions while the ATCT is in operation.

1-1-9 K 2 (a)(1) states that when the weather is below 800/2, an aircraft or vehicle is not allowed in the ILS critical area when an aircraft is inside the FAF and the airport. Whe the weather is below 200 ft or 2000 ft RVR, no one inside the critical area when an aircraft is inside the ILS MM.

Now, my IOE captain stated that holding short of the ILS critical area should be done automatically when the weather is below 800/2 but the AIM does not support this.

The AIM does not give us direction when the ATCT is not in operation. Common sense would tell me though, that if I hear an aircraft doing the ILS, I'm going to hold short of the ILS critical area until I know he's on the ground.

The AIM also doesn't give us direction regarding ILS Critical areas at uncontrolled airports. The unctontrolled airports with an ILS didn't have an actual ILS critical area Hold marking. I'm not saying that all uncontrolled airports don't have them, just the ones that I've been to.

 

[mvedepo]

Common sense would tell me though, that if I hear an aircraft doing the ILS, I'm going to hold short of the ILS critical area until I know he's on the ground.

If you do this at a controlled airport, especially a busy one, ATC will tell you to move up to the hold short line. I can understand the argument about holding short of the ILS critical area at an uncontrolled field with weather less then 800/2 but you never have to do so at a controlled field without ATC instruction.

 

[MED]

ONLY when instructed to do so.

 

[atl pilot]

I have folks routinely hold short of the critical area when other pilots have indicated they're flying a "coupled approach for training," even when the wx is better than 800/2. But I always issue it when the wx dictates,, as appropriate.