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A mooney M20J pilot reported getting a low altitude alert from the cdw tower on visual approach to runway 4.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1020158 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201206 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | CDW.Airport |
| State Reference | NJ |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | M-20 J (201) / Allegro |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Route In Use | Visual Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 40 Flight Crew Total 1195 Flight Crew Type 1195 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT Inflight Event / Encounter Unstabilized Approach |
Narrative:
I was on an IFR flight plan to caldwell; nj (cdw). The airport was in sight and I had received clearance for the visual approach to runway 4. I was handed off to caldwell tower and was instructed to fly straight in to runway 4 and report 4 mile final. I was descending to pattern altitude at a relatively slow rate of descent (around 300 FPM) and inside 10 miles from the field. Pattern altitude is 1;200 ft MSL. At around 2;000 ft MSL I received a low altitude alert from the tower controller. I was constantly in visual contact with the terrain which did not appear to be unsafe. I am aware that the terrain southwest of the field is somewhat higher than field elevation but I was in visual contact with the approach end of the runway and with the ground below me. I then arrested my descent and continued my approach. Distracted by the tower's communication and by my wife asking what that was all about; I remained high and then had to make a greater than average final descent to land. The mooney is somewhat hard to slow down especially in a descent so I try to get to pattern altitude by 3 to 4 miles from the field. In the future I will probably load the GPS approach so as to get safe glide slope information even on a visual approach.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Mooney M20J pilot reported getting a low altitude alert from the CDW Tower on visual approach to Runway 4.
Narrative: I was on an IFR flight plan to Caldwell; NJ (CDW). The airport was in sight and I had received clearance for the visual approach to Runway 4. I was handed off to Caldwell Tower and was instructed to fly straight in to Runway 4 and report 4 mile final. I was descending to pattern altitude at a relatively slow rate of descent (around 300 FPM) and inside 10 miles from the field. Pattern altitude is 1;200 FT MSL. At around 2;000 FT MSL I received a low altitude alert from the Tower Controller. I was constantly in visual contact with the terrain which did not appear to be unsafe. I am aware that the terrain southwest of the field is somewhat higher than field elevation but I was in visual contact with the approach end of the runway and with the ground below me. I then arrested my descent and continued my approach. Distracted by the Tower's communication and by my wife asking what that was all about; I remained high and then had to make a greater than average final descent to land. The Mooney is somewhat hard to slow down especially in a descent so I try to get to pattern altitude by 3 to 4 miles from the field. In the future I will probably load the GPS approach so as to get safe glide slope information even on a visual approach.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.