A WDB PIC RPT ON HIS USE OF AUTOLAND DURING AN ILS APCH TO RWY 13L; A NON CAT II AUTH APCH; JFK; NY.

Date: 1999-01 · Aircraft: Commercial Fixed Wing

Anomalies: inflight-event-encounter-weather-turbulence|other-unspecified

Synopsis

A WDB PIC RPT ON HIS USE OF AUTOLAND DURING AN ILS APCH TO RWY 13L; A NON CAT II AUTH APCH; JFK; NY.

Narrative

HISTORICALLY MY COMPANY'S NOTAM QUALITY HAS BEEN VERY POOR. MANY NOTAMS WERE OUT OF DATE YET REMAINED IN OUR PAPERWORK. WE WERE ENRTE SFO-JFK. WE OBSERVED WX NOT IMPROVING AS FORECAST AND THAT RWY 13L WAS IN USE; ALTHOUGH DIGITAL ATIS SHOWED RVR READINGS FOR RWY 4R. UPON READING NOTAMS; WE SAW #1/37 SAYING CAT II AND CAT III APCHS NOT AUTH. (NOTE: THERE IS NO CAT III TO THIS RWY.) I CALLED DISPATCH TO DETERMINE IF NOTAM WAS ACCURATE AND AFTER CALLING ZNY; HE SAID THAT NO ONE KNEW WHY THAT NOTAM WAS THERE. AFTER ARRIVING IN JFK TERMINAL AREA RWY 4L ILS CAT III APCHS WERE IN USE. HOWEVER; RVR DECREASED TO 500 FT AND WE SUBSEQUENTLY DIVERTED. AFTER REFUELING IN PHL AND ANTICIPATING AN ILS TO RWY 4R; WE GOT ATIS SHOWING ILS'S TO RWY 13L; RPTED RVR AS 6000 FT WITH 100 FT OVCST. THIS WAS MY FIRST LOW VISIBILITY DAY SINCE CHKING OUT AS CAPT AND THE WAY WX SEEMED TO BE DETERIORATING; WE DECIDED TO AUTOLAND VIA A CAT II APCH. SENT ANOTHER INQUIRY TO DISPATCH TO SEE IF HE HAD MORE INFO ON THE NOTAM AND HE NEVER RESPONDED. ASKED JFK APCH ABOUT NOTAM AND THEY SAID THEY DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT. SO; I FIGURED THE NOTAM WAS INCORRECT ON OUR PAPERS AND DID A CAT II/AUTOLAND (AUTOLAND IS REQUIRED COMPANY PROC ON CAT II). AFTER A FEW DAYS OF TRYING TO RESEARCH AND HAVE NOTAM REMOVED; I DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS VALID DUE TO THRESHOLD XING PROBS DUE TO SOME PREVIOUS TXWY CONSTRUCTION. I FEEL KIND OF DUMB THAT I DID THIS EVEN THOUGH APCH SEEMED OK. I THINK ATC SHOULD KNOW THE CURRENT STATUS OF ALL NOTAMS/LIMITATIONS FOR THE APCHS THEY ARE UTILIZING; EVEN THOUGH I TECHNICALLY POSSESSED THE PROPER INFO TO MAKE A DECISION. THE ABILITY TO VERIFY THIS WITH APCH WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ADDED SAFEGUARD.

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