THE CASE FOR A STABLE APPROACH

Unstable approaches seem to be getting a lot of attention in the industry again. I know that an unstable approach (too fast, too high, too slow, too low etc) is a common precursor to serious incidents and accidents, including that most frequent of accident categories, the runway excursion (see below). I know there is data to indicate that most unstable approaches are continued to touchdown, suggesting that pilots either aren’t aware of the risks or even worse, aren’t aware that they have failed to achieve a stable approach condition. I also know that when pilots do make the right choice and initiate a go-around, that can go very wrong too – more about that in another post.

I know all this but what I don’t know is why unstable approaches remain an issue when we have known these things for quite some time. Any pilot will tell you that you need to arrive at the touchdown in the right place, at the right speed, in the right attitude and the right aircraft configuration – otherwise it can get messy. All we are asking is that they do all that at 1,000 feet above touchdown instead (500 feet if you want to be racy). That way they get to fly the last 3 miles or so, just over a minute in most cases, only having to make inputs on the controls to correct for environmental disturbances. Why wouldn’t you want to make your job easier and your life (plus those of your salary financing passengers) a little safer?