Quote:
Well, in the States, the circling approach has been eliminated both in the sim and in real life by most operators for a couple of decades now. A lot of crashes in the 'old days' were on these approaches even though the pilots were allegedly better in stick and rudder handling back then.
Unquote.
This may be sufficient in the states. There are however airports in the world where a circling approach is the only way to get in. And no, not in small airports or small aircraft.
One example is Addis Abeba , Ethiopie. We had to use the ils runway often and then circle to the opposite runway because of the wind. (25kts tail on the ils runway). This at night and in a very mountanous region with a B767-300.
For this exact reason, circling approaches are still practised in the sim, engine out and all.