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A B737-700 captain got disoriented on a night visual arrival and triggered an ATC low altitude alert.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 865512 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200912 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-700 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 165 Flight Crew Type 14000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT |
Narrative:
We were cleared for the visual approach to runway 24 and were approaching on a left base. The airport was in sight but the runway was difficult to see among other lights in the area. Based on information from the FMC; glideslope; and moving map display; I felt I needed to descend and configure. Otherwise I would end up high as I turned final. On about a two mile base; the tower issued a low altitude alert and said he showed us at 900 AGL. I corrected the altitude and we were able to turn final at 1000 AGL; configured; on glidepath; and on speed; although the gusts and turbulence were adversely affecting the speed and glidepath control. A contributing factor was that this was at the end of a long day; a transcontinental series of flights that started in the dark and finished in the dark.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B737-700 Captain got disoriented on a night visual arrival and triggered an ATC low altitude alert.
Narrative: We were cleared for the visual approach to Runway 24 and were approaching on a left base. The airport was in sight but the runway was difficult to see among other lights in the area. Based on information from the FMC; glideslope; and moving map display; I felt I needed to descend and configure. Otherwise I would end up high as I turned final. On about a two mile base; the Tower issued a low altitude alert and said he showed us at 900 AGL. I corrected the altitude and we were able to turn final at 1000 AGL; configured; on glidepath; and on speed; although the gusts and turbulence were adversely affecting the speed and glidepath control. A contributing factor was that this was at the end of a long day; a transcontinental series of flights that started in the dark and finished in the dark.
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.