Low-visibility take-offs / landings & RTOs

[Nicholas49]

Hello all

In light of the report (posted in the FD forum) into the high-speed aborted take-off at Dublin some time ago, I wonder if I can ask two questions on that topic that are unrelated to each other?

1) I understand that aircraft are separated at greater distances from each other in low visibility weather to reduce further the risk of a collision. (For example, it was explained on another thread in this forum that only one aircraft at one time flies the ILS at LHR in foggy weather for this reason). On a clear day, you will be able to see pretty far down the runway and spot if there is an incursion. But what happens in fog/low visibility when you can only see a couple of hundreds of metres ahead of you? How do you know for certain that you aren't going to hit something half-down that you can't see from the start and that you are now travelling too fast to avoid? My question applies to landings too, where you land only being able to see the minimum amount of runway to be 'visual'. In these weather situations, are you putting all your trust in ATC/others crews to ensure your runway is clear, or is there an automated system that helps you? I believe TCAS operates only in-flight?

2) Speaking more generally on the point of RTOs, would it be fair to say that broadly speaking most professional pilots will perform at least one 'real' go-around in their professional flying career, whereas most professional pilots will never carry out a rejected take-off and even fewer will perform a high-speed rejected take-off (other than in the six-monthly simulator training), given that they are such a rare occurrence?

Thanks for your help.
Nick