Approach Lighting Systems in the U.S. National Airspace System and Flight Performance During Low Visibility Instrument Approach and Landing Operations: A Literature Review

Details

• Creators:
  Fercho, Kelene A.
• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Approach
  • Visual flight
  • Visual perception
  • Vision
  • Aviation safety
  • Safety
  • Lighting
  • Performance measurement
  • Head up displays Low visibility
  • Flight operations
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/AM-21/20
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.21949/1404256
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Office of Aerospace Medicine
• Abstract:
  Approach lighting systems provide the bridge for the transition from instrument flight to visual see-to-land operations and are critical to safety. However, they are expensive to install and maintain and may not be feasible for all runways due to terrain restrictions or the availability of undeveloped land. This report provides a review of the approach lighting systems in the U.S. National Airspace System, approach lighting system components, and desired visual guidance. Additionally, research on approach lighting systems conducted by the FAA and others is summarized. Major themes of this research include investigating the effects of modifying characteristics such as the pattern, size, lighting density, and individual lighting components on safety and flight performance. More recently, there has been a focus on in-cockpit technologies, such as head-up displays or advanced vision technologies, and their ability to supplement the visual cues provided by an approach lighting system during low visibility flight operations.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/85486/dot_85486_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.57 MB]
• Collection(s):
  FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b22d52d8163edaccf4ea98acd6f8402b58a8a8acf1150bd3fb18888f3d345556787db4266d47932e7ad1175cd3203f39cffec25c96d0ad177b414590c1d08a39