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MAP time and threshold

Asked by: 3907 views FAA Regulations, Instrument Rating, Weather

Hello everyone, 

I was asked this question recently and I still cannot find an answer, I am hoping I can find it here. 

The Question:

If you are over the runway threshold at minimums, and your MAP time is 2:35 and now it is 2:33, you have the runway threshold in sight, will you go missed? or land?

I said I was going to land due to CFR 91.175 which states that as long as you have the runway environment in sight, you can land. The "answer" was never explained to me, because I forgot to ask about it, does anyone know where I can find the answer to the question? 

Thank you all for your help! 

1 Answers



  1. Russ Roslewski on Jan 27, 2015

    If you can land from where you see the runway using normal maneuvers, and have one or more of the required items in sight, then by all means, go ahead and land.

    But if you’re over the threshold on a LOC, VOR or NDB approach (where you would need the timing) you are almost certainly going to be at least 300 feet AGL. Can you land on the remaining runway from that altitude? I suppose it depends on the aircraft and the length of runway.

    However, it appears there might be a misconception here (I know there is in general, I’ve seen it many times). There is absolutely no guarantee that if you see the runway at the MAP that you will be able to land from there. Heck, it’s not even an expectation or even a design standard. The MAP is just what it says, the point where you execute the missed approach, and nothing more. There are numerous examples of approaches where the MAP is way down or even _past_ the runway – the most common example being a VOR approach to an on-airport VOR. One example is Springfield, OH KSGH VOR RWY 24:

    http://skyvector.com/files/tpp/1501/pdf/00958V24.PDF

    Where the MAP is about 8000 feet down a 9000 foot runway. Not likely you’ll be landing from there!

    I teach that the MAP is ONLY the point at which you start your missed approach. You should not expect that a safe approach to landing can be made if you see the runway AT the MAP.

    Actually, that’s the whole purpose of a VDP for those approaches that have them. But that’s a separate topic.

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