Okay, I promise this will be my last post on the matter. It's not that I don't want to discuss this in more depth but (a)we're definitely straying from the original point of the thread (b)I don't want to bore everybody to death with my ponderings and (c)Green Goblin has said, better, what I was alluding to.
Anyway, ChinaBeached, just to clarify; the 'bolleaux' was associated with the niff naff and trivia that the Austrian TRE was talking about. I, too, have my JAA ATPL, operate internationally and, sometimes, to unfamiliar airports. I do this very safely and conscientiously but stand by my comment that it is not necessary to know the minutae of airport markings and such like in order to conduct the operation safely and professionally.
On the practical side, the differences between TERPS and Pans Ops are not necessary to KNOW if you conduct your flight correctly. It doesn't matter that TERPS uses such-and-such angle of bank, whereas Pans Ops uses something else IF you stay within your circling area. Likewise, obstacle clearance etc. IF I keep the runway in sight, stay within my circling area and don't descend below MDA then it matters not a jot who drew the chart. I agree that Pans Ops will give you greater margins but there's no need to get silly about being a passenger on one of my flights because I haven't distinguished between the TERPS design and Pans Ops designs of the charts during my approach briefing. I won't bust the minimums and I'll stay in the right place. That way I won't smash into the ground under either system (although I might come closer with TERPS......by about 100').
The Busan incident would not have been avoided if the crew had realised they were working to differing chart design standards. There's no allowance made in either design for flying as far out of the circling area as they did (both TERPS and Pans Ops areas). There's no allowance for the stupidity of losing sight with the runway and pressing on with the approach. There's no allowance for not immediately carrying out a GPWS manoeuvre, rather than waiting until you're lined up on the rwy centreline. This crew screwed the pooch by unsafely operating the aircraft and no amount of knowing the differences between chart designs would have stopped them doing that. I DON'T and WON'T exceed the limits and, therefore, you'll be perfectly safe on one of my flights, when I divert at night and carry out a circling approach, even if I don't vary my operation because of the chart designers.