AN A300 PLT RPTS AN ALT DISCREPANCY ON THE SANTIAGO; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (MDST-STI) 11-1 ILS DME RWY 11 APCH AT THE 6 PT 7 AND 6 PT 6 ILS DME FIXES.

Date: 2005-02 · Aircraft: A300 · Phase: approach

Synopsis

AN A300 PLT RPTS AN ALT DISCREPANCY ON THE SANTIAGO; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (MDST-STI) 11-1 ILS DME RWY 11 APCH AT THE 6 PT 7 AND 6 PT 6 ILS DME FIXES.

Narrative

I SUBMITTED A 'DEBRIEF' LAST WK REGARDING THE NEW ILS DME RWY 11 AT MDST (PAGE 11-1) BECAUSE DATA ASSOCIATED WITH FIXES ON THE FINAL APCH SEGMENT ARE IN CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER. I RECEIVED A REPLY TO THAT DEBRIEF AND THEN APPARENTLY THE A300 FLEET MGR SENT AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL PLTS MAKING A GENERAL REF TO 'SOME CONFUSION ABOUT THE APCH.' THE FACT IS THAT THE PUBLISHED APCH IS DEFECTIVE AND CANNOT BE FLOWN AS PUBLISHED. THERE IS A POINT PODIX ON THE APCH WHICH IS IDENTED AS 6.7 DME ON THE ILS WITH A 3200 FT ALT ON THE PROFILE VIEW. THEN; JUST 1/10 OF A MI LATER; AT 6.6 DME ON THE ILS; THE FAF IS DEPICTED AS HAVING A 2600 FT ALT RESTR. THIS 6.6 IDME FIX IS ALSO SHOWN AS THE GS INTERCEPT ALT. PERHAPS SOMEONE WHO IS A BETTER PLT THAN ME CAN EXPLAIN HOW I CAN BE NO LOWER THAN 3200 FT AT 6.7 DME AND THEN DSND 2600 FT IN 1/10 OF A MI TO INTERCEPT THE GS. IN THE FLEET MGR'S NOTICE HE SAYS; 'THE ACTUAL GS IS CORRECT' WHILE THIS SOUNDS REASSURING; IT IS MISLEADING BECAUSE THERE ARE NO REASONABLE MEANS TO KNOW YOU ARE ON THE ACTUAL GS (IE; NO WAY TO RELIABLY CHK THE FAF XING ALT WHILE ON GS). AGAIN; I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT PLTS NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO FLY THIS APCH UNTIL THE SPECIFIC ERRORS ARE POSITIVELY IDENTED AND CORRECTED IN SOME MANNER SO THAT PLTS CAN ENSURE SAFE OP AND AVOID CONFLICT WITH THE TERRAIN. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR REVIEWED THE APCH WITH THE ANALYST AND EXPLAINED WHAT APPEARS TO BE AN OBVIOUS DISCREPANCY IN ALT DSCNT CONSTRAINTS.

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