Flight Training - October 2013 - 48

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TECH TALK

ARE YOU STABILIZED?

If not, go around
» By Jared Dirkmaat

EVERY PILOT HAS an opinion regarding
what creates a good landing. Some will
say it’s all about seat position; others will
tell you it’s strictly airspeed control or
where you look down the runway in the
flare. As with many things in aviation,
it comes down to planning and preparation. Those two ingredients come from a
stabilized approach to land.
What does it mean to be stabilized?
Consider all the elements that make for a
good landing: airspeed control, stabilized power setting, stabilized normal
descent rate, on glidepath/slope, runway
centerline, landing configuration, and
all checklists completed. If all of these
items are in place, the aircraft is stabilized and ready to land.
Many accidents that occur during the
landing phase happen because a pilot
attempted to “fix” an unstable approach,
such as making drastic power changes to
correct glidepath/slope; an excessive rate
of descent to “get down” below a cloud
deck; or overbanking to correct for an
overshoot of final. These are the first links
in the error chain that could result in an
undesirable outcome.
The error chain references a series of
events that, if left uncorrected, could lead

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to an undesirable aircraft state, meaning the aircraft is departing from normal
flight conditions and could experience an
accident or incident.
The concept of a stabilized approach
is designed to assist the pilot in ensuring
the aircraft doesn’t depart from normal
flight by requiring all aspects
of the approach to be on target by a
certain point.
Since most aircraft incidents occur
during takeoff and landing, it’s important to have a definitive point at which,
if the aircraft isn’t ready to land, a goaround must be performed.
Most airlines require stabilization criteria to be met at certain altitudes above
the airport elevation. For example, during a visual approach to land, the aircraft
must be stabilized by 500 feet above
airport elevation. During an instrument
approach, the aircraft must be stabilized
by 1,000 feet above airport elevation.
The next time you’re on final, ask
yourself, “Am I stabilized?” Airspeed?
On glidepath/slope? Fully configured
for landing? Stabilized power setting?
Checklists completed? There are only
two answers to that question: stabilized
or go around.
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Flight Training - October 2013

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