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A320 flight crew reports getting low during a night visual approach from the downwind position. ATC is the first to detect that the crew has descended out of 3;000 feet prematurely.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1264006 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201505 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | MCI.Airport |
| State Reference | MO |
| Environment | |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A320 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | First Officer Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Pilot Not Flying Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
At 3;000 ft after being cleared for a visual approach at mci I decided to extend the downwind leg to intercept course outside the FAF. I mis read the altitude at FAF and began to descend. Upon starting our base turn atc said we appeared low. I started a climb to get back on profile. We intercepted the G/south just inside the FAF configuered for a stabilized approach and landed normally.although I had reviewed the approach plate I inadvertantly thought it was a different altitude at the FAF. Lack of visual cues and night time ops; also situational awareness contributed.this was an eye opening lesson. How one can easily make a simple mistake of mis remembering an altitude. Even on the clearest of days under the best conditions errors can be made and missed. Also reminded me that night time ops can be a challenge even to the most seasoned of us due to the lack of all the visual cues available during daylight ops. Check and recheck altitudes especially on visuals when atc is no longer providing alt guidance. Lesson learned!
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A320 flight crew reports getting low during a night visual approach from the downwind position. ATC is the first to detect that the crew has descended out of 3;000 feet prematurely.
Narrative: At 3;000 FT after being cleared for a Visual approach at MCI I decided to extend the downwind leg to intercept course outside the FAF. I mis read the altitude at FAF and began to descend. upon starting our base turn atc said we appeared low. I started a climb to get back on profile. We intercepted the G/S just inside the FAF configuered for a stabilized approach and landed normally.Although I had reviewed the approach plate I inadvertantly thought it was a different altitude at the FAF. Lack of visual cues and night time ops; also situational awareness contributed.This was an eye opening lesson. how one can easily make a simple mistake of mis remembering an altitude. Even on the clearest of days under the best conditions errors can be made and missed. Also reminded me that night time ops can be a challenge even to the most seasoned of us due to the lack of all the visual cues available during daylight ops. Check and recheck altitudes especially on visuals when atc is no longer providing alt guidance. Lesson learned!
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.