Narrative:

We had a set of circumstances in elp tonight that caused me some consternation at the gate prior to departing for elp. I called dispatch and the pilot on duty for their assistance; and I got everything worked out to my satisfaction. Thanks to each of them for taking my concerns seriously; for making several phone calls for me; and for helping me implement a solution that I found acceptable. I am writing because I'm concerned about safety of flight in the event that other crews encounter these same circumstances in the future. In my opinion; this is a problem that needs to be noticed and addressed while still at the gate. I have had limited experience flying into elp in the past 12 years. I've been on this model aircraft for just under 2 years now and have flown in once or twice in that time; and I was on another aircraft for 10 years prior to that during which time I never flew into elp. My first officer has never flown into elp in his entire career. As I recall from long ago; elp almost always landed on rwy 26L or rwy 22. On the rare occasion that winds were out of the east; they landed on rwy 04. After pulling up elp ATIS at the gate; my first officer pointed out that rwy 22/04 is closed for construction. It will be closed for construction for quite some time to come. At that time; the elp winds were out of the east at 11 knots; and the forecast winds for our arrival time (and beyond) were 10 knots out of the east. Elp was using runway 08 for landing at that time. Rwy 8 in elp has no instrument approaches at all. They do not exist. Rwy 4 was closed; as was rwy 22 (same piece of asphalt). Rwy 26 existed as a possibility; with 9025 feet of available landing distance after the threshold; but that would require landing with 10 knots on the tail (10 is the limit). This was a night flight.elp is a high elevation airport; at 3962 ft. There are some mountains in the vicinity of elp; most significantly; a 6200 peak just off the departure end of rwy 26. More to my concern; within a few miles of the approach end of rwy 08. That same small mountain range has another peak at 7200; and the 'range' runs north-south; alongside what would be a base leg for rwy 08 when approaching from the north. There are a few other mountains to the south and east of elp as well. There seems to be a lot of foot stomping these days about accepting night visuals in the vicinity of mountainous terrain. [We] had mandatory training regarding night visuals into rno (stay on the magenta line); and my first officer said that [he had] recent training regarding night visuals into psp. [I also] had mandatory training regarding night visuals into las where a real crew departed the magenta line for the final approach fix and encountered a whoop whoop pull up. Furthermore; night visuals are prohibited in tus. It is my perception that night visuals in tus are kind of a hot item these days. There's also a note on the tus 10-7 pages prohibiting them. Tus; elp; what's the difference? I pulled out [the flight manual] to investigate further. There's about a page and a half regarding visual approaches and a tiny bit of the verbiage addresses night visuals. 'At night; since obstacles may not be visible; visual approaches must not be accepted or requested unless the airport is clearly in sight and the flight crew is certain of remaining clear of obstacles and terrain while maneuvering for landing.' ... And this; too...' by accepting a visual approach; the flight crew assumes responsibility for terrain and obstacle clearance; and landing at the correct runway and 'extreme caution and diligent traffic watch must be maintained.'and so; here I am at the gate; towards the end of our 13 hour duty day; getting ready to depart for elp; with 10 knot winds out of the east; rwy 08 in use; no instrument approaches into rwy 08 at all; night time; rwy 22/04 closed; very little elp experience between me and my first officer; mountainous terrain in the area; and plenty of prior training regarding the danger of accepting night visuals in mountainous terrain. I called the dispatcher to ask him to call elp and confirm what kind of approach we can expect and what the winds were doing and expected to do on arrival (though I already had the latest ATIS and a forecast from a few sources). [Dispatcher] confirmed that they were landing on rwy 08 and that the winds were 10 knots out of the east. I told [dispatcher] that I wasn't comfortable. I had a choice between a night visual to a high elevation airport; in mountainous terrain; with a known mountain just a few miles to the west of rwy 08 and no instrument guidance; and an instrument approach to rwy 26 with a known tailwind at our max limit.I'd take the landing on rwy 26 with a tailwind any day over a night visual with zero instrument guidance in mountainous terrain. We had already checked the land app and knew it would take around 5000 ft on a 9025 foot runway with 10 knots tailwind. No problem! But my concern was that if the winds kicked up even 1-2 knots above the current and forecast winds; we'd be illegal to land on rwy 26 and I'd only have one runway at my disposal - a night time visual to rwy 08. And so; I requested an alternate and alternate fuel. [Dispatcher] agreed and began re-planning. With an alternate; if the winds kicked up another knot or two; I would have a backup plan that did not include doing a night visual at the end of our duty day in mountainous terrain. I then called the pilot on duty to ask if he could possibly put me in touch with someone who could provide more guidance on night visuals. I was just uncomfortable. It seemed odd that we were possibly the first and only crew who was concerned about this particular set of circumstances and here I was causing a big delay! (Pilot on duty) was helpful and confirmed every single sentiment I had about the situation. He also spoke to the dispatcher for me to reiterate my concerns; and he validated my only info source for night visuals. I appreciated his demeanor and assistance. We departed 75 minutes late with extra fuel and two alternates. We took off 15 minutes before we went illegal. We noticed that after we took off; elp was using rwy 26 'now' instead of rwy 08. We landed uneventfully on rwy 26 with a reported 6 knot tailwind and 12 knots on the tail during approach. It is my opinion that pilots and dispatchers should be made aware of this particular circumstance in elp; specifically while rwy 22/04 is closed. When winds are around 10 knots out of the east; pilots who have not coordinated ahead of time for alternate fuel will be forced to either land with an illegal tailwind or accept a night visual in mountainous terrain with zero instrument guidance. Seems like an accident waiting to happen.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier Captain reported concern about operating into ELP under night visual conditions given the terrain; limited runway options; and no instrument approach.

Narrative: We had a set of circumstances in ELP tonight that caused me some consternation at the gate prior to departing for ELP. I called Dispatch and the Pilot on Duty for their assistance; and I got everything worked out to my satisfaction. Thanks to each of them for taking my concerns seriously; for making several phone calls for me; and for helping me implement a solution that I found acceptable. I am writing because I'm concerned about safety of flight in the event that other crews encounter these same circumstances in the future. In my opinion; this is a problem that needs to be noticed and addressed while still at the gate. I have had limited experience flying into ELP in the past 12 years. I've been on this model aircraft for just under 2 years now and have flown in once or twice in that time; and I was on another aircraft for 10 years prior to that during which time I never flew into ELP. My FO has never flown into ELP in his entire career. As I recall from long ago; ELP almost always landed on Rwy 26L or Rwy 22. On the rare occasion that winds were out of the east; they landed on Rwy 04. After pulling up ELP ATIS at the gate; my FO pointed out that Rwy 22/04 is closed for construction. It will be closed for construction for quite some time to come. At that time; the ELP winds were out of the east at 11 knots; and the forecast winds for our arrival time (and beyond) were 10 knots out of the east. ELP was using Runway 08 for landing at that time. Rwy 8 in ELP has no instrument approaches at all. They do not exist. Rwy 4 was closed; as was Rwy 22 (same piece of asphalt). Rwy 26 existed as a possibility; with 9025 feet of available landing distance after the threshold; but that would require landing with 10 knots on the tail (10 is the limit). This was a night flight.ELP is a high elevation airport; at 3962 ft. There are some mountains in the vicinity of ELP; most significantly; a 6200 peak just off the departure end of Rwy 26. More to my concern; within a few miles of the approach end of Rwy 08. That same small mountain range has another peak at 7200; and the 'range' runs north-south; alongside what would be a base leg for Rwy 08 when approaching from the north. There are a few other mountains to the south and east of ELP as well. There seems to be a lot of foot stomping these days about accepting night visuals in the vicinity of mountainous terrain. [We] had mandatory training regarding night visuals into RNO (stay on the magenta line); and my FO said that [he had] recent training regarding night visuals into PSP. [I also] had mandatory training regarding night visuals into LAS where a real crew departed the magenta line for the Final Approach Fix and encountered a Whoop Whoop Pull UP. Furthermore; Night Visuals are PROHIBITED in TUS. It is my perception that Night Visuals in TUS are kind of a hot item these days. There's also a note on the TUS 10-7 pages prohibiting them. TUS; ELP; what's the difference? I pulled out [the Flight Manual] to investigate further. There's about a page and a half regarding Visual Approaches and a tiny bit of the verbiage addresses Night Visuals. 'At night; since obstacles may not be visible; visual approaches must not be accepted or requested unless the airport is clearly in sight and the flight crew is certain of remaining clear of obstacles and terrain while maneuvering for landing.' ... and this; too...' By accepting a visual approach; the flight crew assumes responsibility for terrain and obstacle clearance; and landing at the correct runway and 'Extreme caution and diligent traffic watch must be maintained.'And so; here I am at the gate; towards the end of our 13 hour duty day; getting ready to depart for ELP; with 10 knot winds out of the east; Rwy 08 in use; NO instrument approaches into Rwy 08 at all; night time; Rwy 22/04 closed; very little ELP experience between me and my FO; mountainous terrain in the area; and plenty of prior training regarding the danger of accepting night visuals in mountainous terrain. I called the Dispatcher to ask him to call ELP and confirm what kind of approach we can expect and what the winds were doing and expected to do on arrival (though I already had the latest ATIS and a forecast from a few sources). [Dispatcher] confirmed that they were landing on Rwy 08 and that the winds were 10 knots out of the east. I told [Dispatcher] that I wasn't comfortable. I had a choice between a night visual to a high elevation airport; in mountainous terrain; with a known mountain just a few miles to the west of Rwy 08 and no instrument guidance; and an instrument approach to Rwy 26 with a known tailwind at our max limit.I'd take the landing on Rwy 26 with a tailwind any day over a night visual with zero instrument guidance in mountainous terrain. We had already checked the LAND app and knew it would take around 5000 ft on a 9025 foot runway with 10 knots tailwind. No problem! But my concern was that IF the winds kicked up even 1-2 knots above the current and forecast winds; we'd be illegal to land on Rwy 26 and I'd only have one runway at my disposal - a Night Time Visual to Rwy 08. And so; I requested an Alternate and Alternate Fuel. [Dispatcher] agreed and began re-planning. With an alternate; IF the winds kicked up another knot or two; I would have a backup plan that did NOT include doing a night visual at the end of our duty day in mountainous terrain. I then called the Pilot on Duty to ask if he could possibly put me in touch with someone who could provide more guidance on night visuals. I was just uncomfortable. It seemed odd that we were possibly the first and only crew who was concerned about this particular set of circumstances and here I was causing a big delay! (Pilot on Duty) was helpful and confirmed every single sentiment I had about the situation. He also spoke to the Dispatcher for me to reiterate my concerns; and he validated my only info source for night visuals. I appreciated his demeanor and assistance. We departed 75 minutes late with extra fuel and two alternates. We took off 15 minutes before we went illegal. We noticed that after we took off; ELP was using Rwy 26 'now' instead of Rwy 08. We landed uneventfully on Rwy 26 with a reported 6 knot tailwind and 12 knots on the tail during approach. It is my opinion that pilots and dispatchers should be made aware of this particular circumstance in ELP; specifically while Rwy 22/04 is closed. When winds are around 10 knots out of the east; pilots who have not coordinated ahead of time for alternate fuel will be forced to either land with an illegal tailwind or accept a night visual in mountainous terrain with ZERO instrument guidance. Seems like an accident waiting to happen.

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.