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An aircraft is making a visual approach to an aerodrome with a runway that is narrower than normal. The runway slopes up from the touchdown area until near to the stop end. What illusion(s) could the runway's dimensions and slope lead to, when the aircraft is lined up for an approach to this aerodrome?

  • A

    Initially the illusion that the aircraft is higher on the approach than it should be, but because the runway is also sloping up towards the stop end, the illusion in the later stages of the approach of the aircraft being too low. Overall there is a risk that a steeper approach is made followed by a late flare by the pilot.

  • B

    The illusion that the aircraft is higher on the approach than it should be, with the risk of flying a steeper than normal approach and landing short of the touchdown area.

  • C

    The runway slope should NOT influence the pilot's perception, but narrowness of the runway could give the illusion of being too low, with the risk that the flare is executed later than normal.

  • D

    The illusion that the aircraft is too low on the approach with the risk of flying at a shallower angle than normal and of landing beyond the touchdown area. In addition, the narrow width could cause the pilot to misjudge the height above the runway and make a heavy landing.

Refer to figure.
One of the expectations a pilot has on final approach is the size of the runway in front of him/her. Deviations from the familiar runway size can cause him/her to misjudge the remaining distance along the glide path.

A narrower-than-usual runway can create an illusion that the aircraft is higher than it actually is. If the pilot believes this illusion, he/she may pitch the aircraft’s nose down to lose altitude. Landing will also be hard in this case, because he/she will possibly flare late and touchdown with a large vertical speed.

Furthermore, when approaching a runway with an upslope, the pilot views it at an increased angle, causing him to assume that he/she is higher above the runway than he/she actually is. He/she might then increase his/her rate of descent and land short of the runway.

As a result, the combination of a narrower runway with an upslope can easily make the pilot believe that he/she is actually high on approach. To correct this perception, he/she may descent too low, with the risk of landing short of the runway.

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