LVO CAT I/II/III OPERATIONS

Jakub Muransky
LESSON CONTENT

INTRODUCTION
GENERAL CONCEPT CAT II/III
LVTO
FLIGHT CREW PROCEDURES
AIRFIELD REQUIREMENTS
OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
INTRODUCTION
CAT II / CAT III provides a level of safety
when landing in low visibility conditions,
equivalent to that of 'normal' operating
conditions

Category II / Category III constitutes the

main part of All Weather Operations
(AWO), which also consists of Category I,
take-off, and taxiing in low visibility
conditions

Moreover, approach success rate in actual

in-line services is now nearly 100%
INTRODUCTION
Although ICAO, the FAA and EASA regulations are slightly
different, all refer to the same concepts for CAT II/CAT III
operations

CATII provides sufficient visual reference to permit a manual

landing at DH

CATIII does not provide sufficient visual references and

requires an automatic landing system
INTRODUCTION

In Category III, pilots see the runway lights only few seconds (about 5
seconds) before touchdown
 MAIN OBJECTIVES
To maintain required level of safety AWO concept must fulfill:

the aircraft

the airfield

the flight crew

the operator
 DECISION HEIGHT VS RVR
All definitions refer to the concept of Decision Height (DH)
and Runway Visual Range (RVR)

It is worth noting the difference between Cat II definitions by

ICAO and FAA, and the definition by EASA of the minimum
runway visual range
 DECISION HEIGHT
Is the wheel height above the runway elevation by which a go-
around must be initiated unless adequate visual reference has been
established or

The aircraft position and approach path have been assessed as

satisfactory to continue the approach and landing in safety (EASA)
 DECISION HEIGHT
In Category II operations, DH is always limited to 100ft or Obstacle
Clearance Height (OCH) whichever is higher

In Category III operations with DH, the DH is lower than 100ft

When necessary, the published DH takes into account the terrain profile
before runway threshold
 ALERT HEIGHT
Is a height above the runway, based on the characteristics of the
aeroplane and its fail-operational automatic landing system, above
which a Category III approach would be discontinued and a missed
approach initiated if a failure occurred in one of the redundant
parts of the automatic landing system, or in the relevant ground
equipment (ICAO)

Alert Height is connected with LAND2, LAND3 or NO

AUTOLAND annunciation
 ALERT HEIGHT
Fail-operational automatic landing system - if in the
event of a failure, the approach, flare and landing can be
completed by the remaining part of the automatic system

Fail-passive automatic landing system - in the event

of a failure there is no significant deviation of aeroplane
trim, flight path or altitude but the landing will not be
completed automatically
 ALERT HEIGHT
Go-around above Alert Height for failures affecting fail
operational system

Below Alert Height continue except for Autoland warning

Height evaluated during certification - typically 100 -

200feet (200 - B737)

Operators can select lower Alert Height

 RUNWAY VISUAL RANGE
Range over which a pilot of an aircraft on the centreline of the
runway can see the runway surface markings or the lights
delineating the runway or identifying its centreline

Transmissometers strategically located

Three basic portions of runway - the touchdown zone (TDZ),

the mid-runway portion (MID) and stop end
 RUNWAY VISUAL RANGE
RVR reports
Reports are given with 50 m increments if RVR is less than 800
m

25 m increments if RVR drops below 150 m

No need to give MID and END value by ATC if they are higher
or equal than TDZ

ATC must have an update of RVR every 15s available

RUNWAY VISUAL RANGE
 RUNWAY VISUAL RANGE
Minimum visual segments at DH have been established
for each category

Typical values are 200m for CAT IIIA and 300m for CAT
II automatic landing
 RUNWAY VISUAL RANGE
A too-low seat adjustment may greatly reduce the visual
segment
When the eye reference position is lower than intended, the
already short visual segment is further reduced by the cut-off
angle of the glareshield or nose
 VISUAL SEGMENT AT DH=100ft
WITH RVR 300m (TYPICAL CAT II)
 VISUAL SEGMENT AT DH=50ft
WITH RVR 200m (TYPICAL CAT III A)
 RVR MINIMA
Pilots require 1-3 seconds to establish visual contact

To establish lateral position pilots required to see not less than three lights

Establish an RVR to to be associated with that DH to ensure required visual

reference is established

Eye position is important

 MINIMUM APPROACH BREAK-OFF
HEIGHT
Is the lowest height above ground measured by radio-altimeter
such that if a missed approach is initiated without external
references

Replaced by minimum DH or indication in AFM of altitude loss

during automatic go around - either MABH or altitude loss in
AFM can be use to determine minimum DH in CAT III
operation
 MINIMUM APPROACH BREAK-OFF
HEIGHT
REFERENCE LOST below DH = immediate go around

a) by pressing TO/GA above 20 ft aircraft stays airborne

b) by pressing TO/GA below 20 ft aircraft will make go around

contact by main landing gear TO/GA feature available

c) by pressing TO/GA below 20 ft aircraft will make ground

contact by all wheels TO/GA feature inhibited, roll out must
be completed
 OPERATING MINIMA
Minima are generally expressed by
RVR and DH

There is direct corellation between

both of them

DH vs RVR can be influenced either

by:

a) approach lighting system capability

b) or close in obstacles
OPERATING MINIMA
 OPERATING MINIMA
An operator is responsible to establish its minima which cannot be
lower than:

Airfield operating minima - OCA (H)

System minimum
Minimum stated by state authority
Aircraft minima stated in AFM
Crew minima

AXE uses minima provided by LIDO up to CAT II but own minima

for CAT IIIA to fulfill missed approach gradient
OPERATING MINIMA
GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT II
 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT II
CAT II weather minima has been established to provide
sufficient visual references at DH to permit a manual landing
(or a missed approach) to be executed (it does not mean that
the landing must be made manually).
More restrictive RVR can be imposed by the procedure in case
of CATII manual landing
 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT II
ICAO definition
DH lower than 200ft but not less than100ft
RVR not less than 350m

EASA definition
DH lower than 200ft but not lower than 100ft
RVR not less than 300m
 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT II
As it is sometimes necessary to increase DH (close in
obstacles), the RVR minima according to EASA and FAA are a
function of the DH

B737 DH RVR
100-120 300
CAT II
121-140 400
141-199 450
 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT II
As per AXE other measured parts of RWY must fulfill following RVR minima:
TDZ MID END
APP CHART 125m 75m

END RVR required if speed at this part is more than 60 kts

 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT III
A CAT III operation is a precision approach at lower than CAT
II minima

CAT III weather minima do not provide sufficient visual

references to allow a manual landing

Pilot decides if the aircraft will land in the touchdown zone

(basically CAT III A) and to ensure safety during rollout
(basically CAT III B)

Automatic landing system is mandatory to perform Category

III operations
 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT III
CAT Ill has three sub-categories:

CAT III A
CAT III B
CAT III C
 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT III
Automatic landing is not CAT III and is not related to
particular weather conditions

This system is mandatory for all CAT III operations

Perform automatic landing in good visibility but ILS

performance must be sufficient and ILS signals protected
GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT IIIA
 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT IIIA
ICAO and FAA definition
No decision height or a decision height lower than 100ft and
a runway visual range not less than 200m

EASA definition
DH lower than 100ft and a runway visual range not less than
200m
 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT IIIA

As per AXE other measured parts of RWY must fulfill following RVR minima:

TDZ MID END

APP CHART 125m 75m

END RVR required if speed at this part is more than 60 kts

 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT IIIB
ICAO and FAA definition
No decision height or a decision height lower than 50ft and a
runway visual range less than 200m but not less than 50m

EASA definition
No decision height or a decision height lower than 50ft and a
runway visual range less than 200m but not less than 75m
 GENERAL CONCEPT
CAT IIIC
ICAO and FAA definition
No decision height and no runway visual range limitation
CAT III C operations are not currently authorized and the
EASA does not mention this sub-category
CAT II/III SUMMARY
EASA
 CAT II/IIIA AXE WIND LIMITATION

B737 AFM limitations

Wind component Wind velocity

Headwind 25
Crosswind 20
Tailwind 10
 AUTOMATIC LANDING CAT II/IIIA
Mandatory equipment:

Dual channel A/P

Low range radio altimeter and display
DH light or display
Two ADIRU (IRU in NAV mode)
Windshield rain removal system
FMA for each pilot
ILS receiver and display for both pilots
Two sources of electrical power
 LOW VISIBILITY TAKE OFF
Takeoff with RVR less than 400m is considered as LVTO by EU
OPS

The Takeoff minima is mainly determined by the airport

installation (runway lighting system, RVR measurement system,
...)
 LOW VISIBILITY TAKE OFF
Facilities RVR
Night: w/o HIRL 700
Day: w/o HIRL 500
Day: runway edge lights and runway
centre line markings
Night: runway edge lights and 300
runway end lights or runway centre
line lights and runway end lights
Runway edge lights and runway
centre line lights 200
Runway edge lights and runway
centre line lights + multiple RVR 150
information
High intensity runway centre line
lights spaced 15m or lessand high 125
intensity edge lights spaced 60m or
less + multiple RVR information
 LOW VISIBILITY TAKE OFF
Take-off minima 125m RVR:
LVO in force at the airport
HIRL spaced 15m + high intensity edge lights spaced 60m or
less
Crew training undergone
90m visual segment clearly visisble
The required RVR has been achieved for all relevant RVR
reporting points
 LOW VISIBILITY TAKE OFF
B737NG AFM wind limitation:
Wind component Wind velocity
Headwind 35
Crosswind 20
Tailwind 10
 LOW VISIBILITY TAKE OFF
Additional considerations

Takeoff alternate is normally required within one hour for

twins

Conditions - one engine inoperative speed in still air in ISA

conditions based on actual take-off speed

Max. distance for B737-800 is 255NM

Allowance for fail operational systems

LOW VISIBILITY TAKE OFF
Instrument setting as per AXE SOPs:
INSTRUMENT SETTING
MCP course display (both) Runway heading of the active rwy
NAV1 ILS of the active RWY
NAV2 ILS of the active RWY
EHSI 1 EFIS mode in map mode
EHSI 2 EFIS mode in RAW DATA or
expanded RAW data
 FLIGHT CREW PROCEDURES
If CATII/III approach has been conducted CAT II/IIIA report
must be filled

All airports intended to be used for CAT IIIA approach must

be before verified by the approach to CAT IIIA performed in
conditions equal or better than CAT II minima (EU-OPS, CAT)

Status of an airports can be found and verified in List of

Adequate Airports in LIDO AXE manuals
FLIGHT CREW PROCEDURES
 FLIGHT CREW PROCEDURES
The pilot at the left pilot seat (PIC) is always the pilot flying
(PF)

The pilot at the right pilot seat (FO) is always pilot monitoring
(PM)

Take-off briefing is performed prior taxing

 FLIGHT CREW PROCEDURES
The PIC shall be PF if RVR or VIS drops below 800m

Take-off is performed after stopping on the RWY

Landing flaps extended to 40

Min. autobrake setting should be 3

 FLIGHT PROCEDURES
IN FLIGHT TASK SHARING:
PF monitors the flight instruments and at 100ft above the DH
shifts his view otside to establish visual contact

PM monitors the flight instruments and announce any

deviation

PM monitors flight instruments through all flight down to DH,

landing until reaching taxi speed

In addition performs following call-outs

FLIGHT PROCEDURES
CAT II
At DH = 100ft
GPWS voice MINIMUM
PF LANDING or GO AROUND
At 50ft
PM FLARE or NO FLARE
At 27ft
PM RETARD or NO RETARD
 FLIGHT PROCEDURES

CAT IIIA
At DH = 50ft
GPWS voice MINIMUM
PM FLARE or NO FLARE
PF LANDING or GO AROUND
At 27ft
PM RETARD or NO RETARD
 FLIGHT PROCEDURES
MCP course selector APP inbound course
NAV CPT ILS of RWY in use
NAV FO ILS of RWY in use
ND or EHSI CPT MAP mode
ND or EHSI FO APP mode
ADF 1 LOM
ADF 2 LMM or NDB behind the RWY
 FLIGHT PROCEDURES
Required visual reference:

Approach lights (3 in sequence)

Runway centre line lights (3 in sequence)
TDZ lights
RWY edge lights
Or combination of all the above

CAT II approach - lateral element of approach aids

 FLIGHT PROCEDURES
Go around manual or automatic

Automatic go around 3 reasons:

1. instructed by ATC

2. no visual contact or contact lost below DH

3. PF incapacitation
 AUTOPILOT FAILURES
Steady red A/P disengage warning light

1. Below 800 ft during approach stab out of trim disengage

A/P manual go around

2. During G/A elevator position not suitable for single

channel operation manual level-off or set higher MCP
altitude
 AUTOPILOT FAILURES

No FLARE annunciation 500 ft RA during approach pitch

and roll monitors may not be enabled or only first A/P channel
is engaged disengage A/P manual go around
 AUTOPILOT FAILURES
Flashing red A/T disengage light A/T is disengaged continue
approach retard thrust manually

Flashing red AUTOLAND light below 500 ft A/P

disengages or stab trim warning occurs disengage A/P manual
go around

Flashing red AUTOLAND light below 200 ft ILS

deviation warning occurs disengage A/P manual go around
 AIRFIELD REQUIREMENTS
The following subjects:

runway characteristics
visual aids
non-Visual aids (ILS)
RVR measurements
obstacle clearance area
ATC procedure,
maintenance procedure
 RUNWAY CHARACTERISTICS
RUNWAY LENGTH
There is no specific requirement
Only an operational limitation

RUNWAY WIDTH
Not less than 45m

Touchdownzone beginning at the

threshold and extending to a
distance of 900m
 RUNWAY CHARACTERISTICS
RUNWAY SLOPE

First and the last quarter of the length of the runway the slope
does not exceed 0.8%

Slope maximum of 2% per 30m

 RUNWAY CHARACTERISTICS
OBJECTS ON RUNWAY
STRIPS

No fixed object (other than

frangible visual aids) are
installed on a runway strip
within 60m of the
centerline

The distance between the

holding position and the
centerline of the runway is
not less than 90m
 VISUAL AIDS
Runway centerline marks must have a width not less than 0.90
m

CAT II or CAT III signs placed on either edge of the taxiway at

the holding-position

Sign CAT III must be accompanied with flashing lights.

VISUAL AIDS
Runway lights for CAT II or
CAT III consist of:

high intensity threshold lights

runway end lights
runway touchdown zone lights
runway edge lights
runway centerline lights
VISUAL AIDS-APPROACH LIGHT SYSTEM
The ALS is mandatory for CAT II operations

Optional for CAT III operations

Row of lights on the extended centreline of the runway,

extending over a distance of 300m from the threshold (over
900m for CAT I)

System has two side rows of lights, extending 270m from the
threshold, and two crossbars, one at 150m and one at 300m
from the threshold
 ILS FACILITY
In CAT II and III approaches, the ILS beams must be protected
from unacceptable disturbance

Two kinds of protection area are defined

the critical area

the sensitive area