Originally Posted by
Capn Bloggs
...Or are Americans/Terps operators allowed to just ignore the circling area limits if they satisfy those FAA-imposed limitations, in effect doing a Visual Approach?
That seems to be the underlying philosophy, Capn.
It appears that the airlines and FAA have convinced themselves that if the destination wx is 1000-2 or -3, the crews won't be performing an IFR circling maneuver, they'll simply be flying a visual approach -- therefore, no training $$$ required.
As you've noted, several elements of the plot have been missed.
Most significant to me is the fact that many circling MDA's are relatively high. At an airport like this
http://www.naco.faa.gov/d-tpp/0612/00652IL11.PDF
the Cat C HAA is 710-ft; the Cat D is 990-ft. And it's certainly not hard to find airports with circling HAA's much higher than these.
So it entirely possible that card-carrying members of the 1000-3 society could find themselves facing a circling approach in minimum weather -- a scant 300 feet above the obstacles -- with zero training and practice.
Many of my corporate-pilot peers have been drinking the same Kool-aid -- emulating our air carrier standards.
"...We won't circle unless the weather is 1000-3".
Well, OK -- so what do you do at mountain canyon airports with HAA's over 1500'?
"Oh, if the HAA is higher than 1000 feet, we'll fly the published MDA".
So, at airports located on billiard-table landscapes, they'll be maneuvering at close to traffic pattern altitudes with comfortable obstacle clearance margins.
But in obstacle-rich environments, they'll be struggling to keep the beast within the TERPS maneuvering area... flying only 300 feet above the obstacles... probably oblivious to the magnification of cold temperature effects on baro-altimeters with increasing height above the station...
