- to avoid misinformation, please note that '1900' to the bridge' is 'recommended' and not mandatory.
Well, yes, the charts for the Quiet Bridge Visuals do use the word 'recommended'. From the Tipp Toe Visual to 28L however, I offer the following verbiage:
"Aircraft should cross the OAK VOR R-151/16.1 DME (Menlo Int) at or above 5000 and the San Mateo Bridge at or above 1900."
Duly noted the word 'should', is still not as conclusive as the word 'mandatory'.
There are a few very good reasons for this altitude, it keeps you inside of Class B Airspace, which keeps you away from the light aircraft traffic operating out of San Carlos Airport, and it puts you very nicely on a 3 degree-ish glide path. EVA may consider themselves lucky not to have near-missed, or worse. They were not where they
should have been.
I leave it to the common sensibilities of most pilots to determine whether this altitude should be mandatory or not; in my cockpit, it most certainly is.