@Lonewolf
Quote:
In one email released by the board, an FAA official indicated three months after the crash that the visual navigation aids installed on the Birmingham runway weren't designed to handle planes as large as the Airbus A300.
Can someone explain to me what is meant by that?
The issue is that the Threshold Crossing Height (TCH) of the PAPI for Runway 18 does not meet the prescribed FAA minimum for Group 4 aircraft which includes the A300. I think the TCH happens to be 47 feet, but the prescribed value for Height Group 4 is 75 ft (+5/-15). This is addressed in the Survival Factors Group Report, beginning at page 11. FAA says that since the info is published, no NOTAM or restrictions are necessary. Its up to the operator to figure out whether and how to use it.
Actually, if I am not mistaken, the PAPI is advisory, not path guidance and certainly not all the way to touchdown. A few feet of TCH doesn't change the angle, and in the case of the accident, the crew blew right through the PAPI centerline (2 white 2 red) and even 4 red with nary a blink. So, in any case its not a contributing factor for the CFIT a mile out. IMHO