AN ACR FLC LINES UP ON THE WRONG RWY DURING A NIGHT VISUAL APCH IN HAZY CONDITIONS. MD80.

Date: 1996-10 · Aircraft: MD-80 Series (DC-9-80) Undifferentiated or Other Model · Phase: approach

Anomalies: deviation-track-heading-all-types|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance

Synopsis

AN ACR FLC LINES UP ON THE WRONG RWY DURING A NIGHT VISUAL APCH IN HAZY CONDITIONS. MD80.

Narrative

AT 14 MI ON R DOWNWIND TO RWY 24R AT LAX; WE WERE CLRED TO FOLLOW A B737 ON A VISUAL TO RWY 24R ON A 190 DEG HDG. DURING THE TURN WE LOST THE B737 IN GND LIGHTS AND ERRONEOUSLY BEGAN TO FOLLOW ANOTHER ACFT WHO WAS ON FINAL TO RWY 25L. WE NOTICED THE PROB ABOUT THE SAME TIME AS TWR AND CORRECTED BACK TO RWY 24R CTRLINE. WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED OVERFLYING RWY 24R CTRLINE BY CAPTURING AND TRACKING IN ON THE LOC INSTEAD OF TRYING TO STAY VISUAL ALL THE WAY. THIS CAN BE A CONTINUING PROB ON HAZY NIGHTS LIKE THIS WHEN CLRED VISUAL BEHIND ANOTHER ACFT WHEN THE VISIBILITY DOES NOT ALLOW FOR ACQUIRING THE ARPT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THIS RPTR WAS FLYING AN MD80 ON A NIGHT VISUAL APCH TO RWY 24R AT LAX WHEN HE LOST SIGHT OF THE B737 THAT HE WAS FOLLOWING. HE SAID THAT HE ATTEMPTED TO FOLLOW THE PRECEDING ACFT BY USING HIS TCASII; BUT HE MISIDENTED THE TARGET AND FOLLOWED AN ACFT FOR RWY 25L INSTEAD. HE SAID THAT HE DID HAVE THE ILS FOR RWY 24R TUNED; BUT NOT SELECTED ON THE MCP (HE WAS ON AUTOPLT DURING THE APCH). HE SAID THAT BOTH THE ATCT LCL CTLR AND THE FLC RECOGNIZED THE ERROR AT THE SAME TIME AND THEY CORRECTED. HE SAID THAT FROM NOW ON HE WILL USE THE ILS GUIDANCE TO AVOID A SIMILAR MISTAKE. HE SAID THAT IT WAS VERY HAZY AND THE GND LIGHTS WERE BRIGHT.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.