dubbleyew eight:
the problem with lawyers and "legal" interpretations is that they often forget why the clumsy wording exists in the first place.
the whole idea is that aircraft in near proximity to the runway, and in near proximity to each other, have altimeters showing the same basic information.
if you are trying to maintain 500ft vertical separation with one aircraft on a sub scale of 1013mb and the other on a sub scale of 1032mb both pilots may think that they are ok but in actual fact they are at the same altitude and will collide.
the rule is just trying to get aircraft to use the same altimetry settings at appropriate times. what is so hard about that that it comes down to some tommyrot about the meanings of "will" and "shall" ??
Sure, I understand the altimeter setting issues. At the same time we have other related problems:
- Company SOP
- Habbits
- Discussions in the cockpit how to interpret this very strange in the legal document "will" and, as a result, following or not following the rule depending on a particular captain.
I would personally follow, but I know many others who won't.
And I'm also not sure how pilots who are used to this rule behave in the airspace where ICAO standards prevail...