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9 Answers

Landing close to approach end – Required or just good etiquette?

Asked by: 5334 views , ,
Airspace, FAA Regulations, General Aviation

The other day I was at a Class D airport and tower berated a pilot who was about to land long (it's an 8,000' runway). He actually told him to go around and said you're supposed to land as close to the approach end as possible. When the pilot asked why, ATC said something like "look, I don't have time to give flying lessons". Ouch. But that got me looking for such a rule or AIM guidance and I found nothing other than exiting the runway ASAP after landing. It does make sense to always let ATC know what you're doing, but does anyone know of such a rule? Or is this an example of them making their own local rules/procedures for their field? (And no, it wasn't me...)

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9 Answers



  1. Jim F. on Jul 16, 2013

    Never heard of anything of the sort. Unless I know my parking place / taxi route is near the other end, then I try to land ASAP so I can 1: get good practice with short-field landings for when I need them to really matter, and 2: to get out of the way for all the other traffic. I feel that it’s just rude to take up the space for longer than necessary.

    That being said, several of our CFIs use the 1,000 markers, just like the airlines. Their justification for doing so is to add another layer of safety. If an engine failed in the pattern or on final, there’s a chance that if shooting for the actual threshold, you’ll not make it. My view is that while that absolutely makes sense, that if that were to actually happen at most airports, you’d be just fine landing short or off the side of the runway in the grass.

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  2. Aaron on Jul 16, 2013

    good luck finding a regulation on it. there is none. absent a LAHSO or specific taxiway exit clearance, once you’re cleared to land, the whole runway is yours. I do this frequently at my home airport KAPA in Denver, when they’re landing north. my base is on the north side of the field, and it’s much faster to cover the 10,000 foot runway at 70kts than 20, especially when I only need 10% of it. I’ll usually request a long landing, sure. that just lets tower know my intentions. usually they actually appreciate it because I’m not tying up their runway as long. I’ll usually bring it down to about halfway down and sweet it down there. So I guess to answer your question, no, there is no specific regulation prohibiting it, however, it is good etiquette to request a long landing from tower. that way, if they need you to do something else, they’ll tell you. however, there is an old saying in aviation: the two most worthless things in aviation are altitude above you and runway behind you. so always make sure you aren’t jeopardizing the safety of the fight by landing long. other than that, go for it.

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  3. Sam Dawson on Jul 16, 2013

    The tower operator was out of line. If I had been the pilot I would have had a phone conversation with the tower chief about this after landing.
    As a CFI I often do use the 1000′ marker. My reasons:
    1. It is 150′ long. PTS are, for private, within 200′ of a specified point for short field. For commercial 100′ for short field. I know if a pilot can consistently put it down within this area they can meet the standards.
    2. If a pilot comes up short aiming for the 1000′ marker I can let them continue safely without taking corrective action. If a pilot is aiming for the approach end and comes up short I must take action. On a check ride if the examiner feels he/she must take corrective action it is pretty much an automatic bust.
    This does not mean I only use the 1000′ marker. Once they are able to do this I will move the touchdown point- land abeam taxiway “X”, make the first turn off, land after taxi way “X” but be able to pull off at taxiway “Y”. These are all common scenarios at busy airports.

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  4. MaggotCFII on Jul 16, 2013

    Take a look in the AIM: 4-3-5 Unexpected Maneuvers in the Airport Traffic Pattern.

    The first sentences seem to fit this situation. So, if you want to land long, ask the controller.
    I have never been refused.

    One should also consider 91.13 Careless or reckless operation. For example, creating a conflict with a LASHO or conflicting with a Ground Controller’s plan.

    Just ask and save the “copy this number – potential pilot deviation” transmission from a controller.

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  5. Mark Kolber on Jul 16, 2013

    I don’t think there’s a hard and fast rule on this for normal Part 91. For Part 135 and 121 operations, the IFR rule that requires all aircraft to use “normal maneuvers” (91.175 (c)) also requires them to land within the touchdown zone. And, in addition to Maggot’s reference to the AIM, there is the more general recommendation (also not a rule) in the FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook chapter discussing faulty approaches that, “If a landing cannot be made on the first third of the runway, or the airplane drifts sideways, the pilot should EXECUTE A GO-AROUND.”

    My bottom line on this and so many procedural issues is that, rules and regs aside, when dealing with ATC, it’s ultimately about managing expectations and communicating.

    As a result of the rules and non-regulatory references we’ve already looked at, while “the runway is mine” is a nice truism, it is going to be Tower’s reasonable expectation that you will touch down, if not within the touchdown zone, at least on the first third of the runway. Tower may even have sequenced the next aircraft for landing based on that expectation, and maybe even the one after that (and the one after that and…).

    So, even if it’s just etiquette, the better practice at a Towered airport is to ask for a long landing if you want it. For that matter, the better practice even at a non-towered airport is to announce your intent to land long to help manage the expectations of other aircraft.

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  6. Sam Dawson on Jul 16, 2013

    Yes, manage expectations. But if ATC told an airplane they are suppose to land as close to the approachend as possible (I am taking the OP at his word), then they were mistaken and telling pilots to do so MAY put them in a hazardous situation of they go forward believing this is the 11th commandment (I’m amazed at how pilots will grab onto kernels of information and cling to them). There is a difference between the first third and “as close to the approach end as possible”.

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  7. Ale on Jul 17, 2013

    Pilots who prefer to use the full length of the runway are EXPECTED to advise ATC PRIOR to landing.

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  8. Ale on Jul 17, 2013

    Pilots are EXPECTED TO USE GOOD OPERATING PRACTICE and communicate intentions to the control tower if they plan to do something unexpected.

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  9. Bob Watson on Jul 18, 2013

    The OP doesn’t mention anything about how busy the traffic pattern was or what type of aircraft (if any) were also getting ready to land. It could be that by landing long, unexpectedly, the OP would disrupt the rhythm of the pattern or cause a bigger airplane to go around (which can have an even bigger domino effect to the traffic pattern. Tower controllers have a sense of how much time and runway each type of plane needs under normal conditions and try to space things out accordingly so that everyone can land as soon as possible.

    As others have pointed out already, unless you ask them in advance, they expect you to land like every other pilot in a similar plane. The flip-side to this is that, traffic permitting, you can ask for pretty much anything. I’ve asked (and been cleared) for multiple landings (long runway), short approaches, long landings, low approaches/passes, downwind landings, etc. I like to ask for a mid-field landing to exit at the taxiway closest to where I park. If they can accommodate, they will.

    Being lectured over the radio is almost always bad form and inappropriate. The tower controller should have just said, “N1234, go around.” and left it at that, or maybe said, to ask for a long landing, next time, if that’s what you plan to do.

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