Premium on Safety - Issue 44, 2022 - 5

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
Truckee-Tahoe's RNAV (GPS) Runway 20 approach with
a circle to land on Runway 29
Excerpt from " On Instruments: Say goodbye to a stabilized approach " published in the January
2021 AOPA Pilot. Published with permission from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
BY TOM HORNE, AOPA EDITOR AT LARGE
Truckee, California is in mountainous terrain, the approach path
threads its way down a valley, and the minimums are higher. The
expanded circling minimums are 7,120 feet (Category A) and 7,220
feet (Category B), which have you leveling off at 1,216 and 1,316
feet agl, respectively. There's not much room to circle, and not
much time to descend to the runway, either. That means steeper
banks, so risk goes up. Then add darkness.
There have been many accidents at Truckee-Tahoe, and this
approach had me flying one specific accident scenario involving
that circle to Runway 29. The accident pilot could have flown down
Runway 20, crossed the airport, and then made a left pattern to
land on Runway 29. Instead, after breaking out he circled to the
left to make a modified right base to Runway 29.
Flying the approach in the simulator, it was easy to see that this
move ratcheted up the stress-and risk. From the left seat, you
can't easily see Runway 29, unless you dip the right wing. I did,
and I could barely make out the runway. My first thought was that
at 1,316 feet agl I was way too high to maneuver to a position from
which I could make a normal landing. I thought of bending the
airplane around, descending at the same time, and rolling out on
final, but I figured that I'd land too long. I saw that fog covered the
distant half of the runway. I'd be landing fast, into fog. Bad idea.
So I opted for a missed approach, hit the go-around button on
the power lever, and the command bars popped up on the PFD
to guide me through the procedure. Then it was a climbing right
turn to 12,000 feet. For the accident pilot, things didn't turn out
so well. He stated he lost visual contact, became disoriented, then
realized he was in a 70- to 80-degree left bank. By the time he
leveled the wings the ground was directly in front of the airplane.
He slid to a stop; he and three passengers suffered minor injuries.
The NTSB listed the pilot's failure to maintain control due to spatial
disorientation as a probable cause of the accident, with dark night
as a factor.
No matter where you fly them, circling approaches carry risks.
Some approaches have more curveballs than others, but the
general rules still apply: plan your circling maneuver ahead of time,
stay on top of the airplane, don't go below MDA until on final, be
ready for steeper-than-standard bank angles, count on higherthan-normal
descent rates on final approach-and have the missed
approach procedure briefed and ready for action.
5
SW-2, 24 FEB 2022 to 24 MAR 2022
SW-2, 24 FEB 2022 to 24 MAR 2022

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