Narrative:

Our dispatch release had us planned for an approach to mdw runway 13C (this was unusual for this approach is never given. It reduced the flow into ord by 60% so ATC doesn't like to configure mdw like that.) the winds were favoring 13C but the current metar showed the vis at 3/4. The taf had the visibility up to 1 mile or above and we had two alternates and the numbers for landing looked good for both 4R and 13C. The NOTAMS showed that the ALS for 31C was out. I queried dispatch on ACARS about the use of 13C on our release and they said the weather was good for the approaches we were expected to get. At cruise we got the ATIS and mdw was landing 31C. This is where my confusions started. I looked at the bwi approaches to check and there were separate minimums for an ILS with the ALS out. I looked at the mdw airport detailed page and 31C showed no ALS; it had HIRL; REIL to use for runaway acquisition and discrimination. The mdw ILS/localizer DME runway 31C pages however showed lead-in (ldin) lights but no separate minimums for a no-ALS configuration. My questions were: 1. Did the reils constitute an ALS and did the NOTAMS apply to them? 2. Did the runway have a ldin system and if it was inoperative; did that invalidate the visibility requirements for the approach? 3. Which was correct; the airport detailed page or the actual approach page? 4. What exactly constituted an ALS? 5. If an approach is invalid due to an airport configuration (no ALS); can that airport still coordinate with ATC for them to issue approaches in a kind of 'buyer beware' approach to the flight crews without any remarks on ATIS or by approach? What if the approach is invalid but the flight visibility is better than surface and there's no problem until the weather gets worse? We shot the approach with the HUD and landed no problems with the flight visibility at 2 miles and landed without incident. It seemed to be ops normal at mdw with steady stream of planes landing and departing. I felt my ability to make a good decision regarding my flight duties were significantly affected by the manner in which information was being provided to me. Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The commercial chart for MDW ILS/LOC DME RWY 31C indicates that the runway has lead in lights (LDIN). A conflict exists because the commercial airport chart describing runways does not indicate lead in lights.

Narrative: Our Dispatch Release had us planned for an approach to MDW Runway 13C (this was unusual for this approach is never given. It reduced the flow into ORD by 60% so ATC doesn't like to configure MDW like that.) The winds were favoring 13C but the current METAR showed the vis at 3/4. The TAF had the visibility up to 1 mile or above and we had two alternates and the numbers for landing looked good for both 4R and 13C. The NOTAMS showed that the ALS for 31C was out. I queried Dispatch on ACARS about the use of 13C on our Release and they said the weather was good for the approaches we were expected to get. At cruise we got the ATIS and MDW was landing 31C. This is where my confusions started. I looked at the BWI approaches to check and there were separate minimums for an ILS with the ALS out. I looked at the MDW airport detailed page and 31C showed no ALS; it had HIRL; REIL to use for runaway acquisition and discrimination. The MDW ILS/LOC DME RWY 31C pages however showed lead-in (LDIN) lights but no separate minimums for a no-ALS configuration. My questions were: 1. Did the REILs constitute an ALS and did the NOTAMS apply to them? 2. Did the runway have a LDIN system and if it was INOP; did that invalidate the visibility requirements for the approach? 3. Which was correct; the airport detailed page or the actual approach page? 4. What exactly constituted an ALS? 5. If an approach is invalid due to an airport configuration (no ALS); can that airport still coordinate with ATC for them to issue approaches in a kind of 'buyer beware' approach to the Flight Crews without any remarks on ATIS or by Approach? What if the approach is invalid but the flight visibility is better than surface and there's no problem until the weather gets worse? We shot the approach with the HUD and landed no problems with the flight visibility at 2 miles and landed without incident. It seemed to be ops normal at MDW with steady stream of planes landing and departing. I felt my ability to make a good decision regarding my flight duties were significantly affected by the manner in which information was being provided to me. Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.