Originally Posted by
reynoldsno1
ISTR the B767 at PUS descended to ILS minima for the reciprocal runway before circling for the runway in use (that had no straight-in approach), so was not at circling MDA - I might be wrong, memory is not what it used to be....
From the Flight Safety Foundation Dec 2005 Accident Prevention, "Boeing 767 Strikes Mountain During Circling Approach":
http://www.flightsafety.org/pubs/ap_2005.html
(Free registration)
“The last data about the status of the aircraft recorded on theFDR showed altitude 704 feet, airspeed 125 knots, groundspeed 133 knots, heading 149 degrees, right bank 26.8 degrees, and pitch angle 11.4 degrees,” the report said.
[emphasis mine]
Cat C circling MDA was 700' MSL; Cat D 1100.
Capn Bloggs - How on earth any airline/operator would allow a Cat C aircraft to circle in the Terps circling area is beyond me. Surely the regulatory authorities would not permit it?
From FAA's AC 120-29A, 4.3.10.11. Circling Approaches:
e. Operators may be authorized to perform circling approaches as published, or may choose not to train flightcrews to accomplish circling maneuvers and accept corresponding high minima limitations regarding circling approaches. If an operator chooses not to train for circling approaches, a 1000 ft HAT DA(H) or MDA(H) and 2 mile visibility limit, or greater, is typically included in OpSpecs to limit use of circling minima for that operator or aircraft type.
f. It is recommended that unless special circumstances exist, wide body (long wingspan) aircraft or aircraft needing to accomplish circling maneuvers at speeds in excess of 165 KTS ground speed should not typically be authorized circling minima below 1000 ft. HAT and 3 miles meteorological visibility.
And so we have the "1000-2 society" for narrow body and the "1000-3 society" for wide body operators, with no (FAA) requirement whatsoever to train crews for circling. 