PILOT'S VIEW:FOG CAN reduce runway visibility from several miles to as little as 100m (300ft), according to president of the Irish Airline Pilots Association Capt Evan Cullen.
However Capt Cullen said there are no specific factors at Cork Airport which would make landing during foggy conditions particularly difficult.
The gap between flying and landing in fog as opposed to clear conditions was far greater than that between day and night flying, Capt Cullen said.
“Fog is essentially water droplets suspended in the atmosphere which greatly reduces visibility. Landing at night the lights on the runway can be seen from several miles away; in dense fog they might only be visible from 100m.”
In general fog is easy to predict, with pilots made aware of the condition through weather forecasts or by the airfield before landing, he said.
“It’s fair to say that fog is predictable but landing in fog depends on the airfield equipment, the aircraft equipment and the training of the pilots.”
Cork Airport has a Category II runway which is suitable for making landing in reduced visibility, but does not have a Category III runway which has no visual range limitations.
However, Capt Cullen said this would not be unusual in an airport of its size.
“Cat III runways do allow you to land in denser fog, but it wouldn’t be unusual for Cork not to have one. Cat III runways are only really in the larger airports like Heathrow or Dublin.”
While Cork Airport was on high ground, this would not necessarily mean it was unsuitable for a reduced visibility landing he said.
“Every airfield is different, they will have different runways with different orientations, but you make yourself familiar with the charts for a particular airfield before you fly. I can’t say that Cork would be any more difficult to land in than anywhere else.”
Pilots can still fly if they don’t have low-visibility training, Capt Cullen said, but would not be cleared to fly in foggy conditions. Most pilots would consider a thunderstorm or high winds to be of greater concern than fog, he said.
The size of an aircraft is immaterial when in comes to dealing with fog, it’s how it is equipped that is important, Capt Cullen added.
“A smaller plane fitted with the right equipment is better than a big jet that’s poorly equipped to deal with fog.”
Capt Cullen and the pilots’ association offered condolences to the families and friends of the crew and passengers killed or injured and expressed appreciation for the work of the emergency services.
Speculation as to the cause of the crash would be misleading and unhelpful until a full inquiry had taken place, the association said.
