Required Landing Visibility Using RVR

[niteflyr]

Visibility Variations

There are many different visibility reports out there - RVR, Tower Visibility, Flight Visibility. Bottom line is if you call the visibility adequate and land, you just have to be able to explain it to the feds if they come asking. If you have specific items you could see from a 1/2 mile final then you had the flight visibility required. RVR is horizontal visibility along the ground, often the worst visibility. If you get to DH and the angle you have looking at the runway gives you the vis, then land. No point in living in paranoia about the feds, they were all like us at one time....I just wish they would quit following me.........

 

[GCD]

OK guys, some of you are assuming that I agree with the mindset that a landing may not be made. Yo're not reading closely enough. I simply threw this out for discussion, and a good discussion it has been.

Let me give you the "unofficial" opinion of a room full of FAA Inspectors. It wasn't a pretty discussion, at first, but the overall concesus was that: if you are past the final approach fix, tower clears you to land, and you had the visibility to commence the approach, you may continue and land, provided you could comply with 121.651, and have the flight visibility. Now, this is where the FAA guys I know say it is tricky. The PIC's judgement of required flight visibility is used. This could be why the B727 crew was violated. I have only seen the FAA Case, but I have not seen if there has been an appeal. I am certain there has been.

The reason I even started this discussion is because there are rooms full of checkairmen, instructors, even inspectors who argue back-n-forth on this exact subject. At 150+- knots at 100' above the touchdown zone, you need to aleady have your mind made up about what you are going to do.

Thanks for the discussion!

 

[pilot00]

The flight visibility is not less than the visibility prescribed in the standard instrument approach procedure being used

What is the definition of flight visibility per FAR part 1?

Flight visibility means the average forward horizontal distance, from the cockpit of an aircraft in flight, at which prominent unlighted objects may be seen and identified by day and prominent lighted objects may be seen and identified by night.

I believe it is the foward horizontal distance to the unlighted object that I see from the cockpit. That is how I read it. So that means if it looks like the vis required to shoot the aproach from my eye's at the DH, I would continue and land.