Definition
An automated controller alert in the tower that warns when an aircraft on approach appears to be lined up with, or heading toward, a runway other than the one it has been cleared to land on. The system compares the aircraft's track and position against the assigned landing runway and issues a visual or aural alert to the controller if a mismatch is detected.
Plain English
A safety tool that watches landing aircraft and tells the tower controller if a plane looks like it is about to land on the wrong runway.
Context Anchor
Pilots may hear about this in air traffic control or runway safety discussions, especially when controllers are monitoring aircraft on final approach.
Derivation
‘Approach’ refers to the final segment of flight before landing. ‘Runway Verification’ means checking that the runway the aircraft is heading to matches the one it was cleared for. The phrase together describes a system that verifies the runway during the approach phase.
Why Pilots Care
Reduces the chance of accepting a clearance to the wrong runway and helps prevent runway incursion or landing incidents.
Intuition Check
Do not read “verification” as something the pilot personally performs in the cockpit here. In this term, it refers to an air traffic control system check that helps the controller confirm runway alignment.
Example Sentence 1
The tower controller's ARV alert flagged the inbound jet drifting toward the parallel runway, and a quick correction was issued before final.
Example Sentence 2
During the arrival briefing the pilot noted that approach runway verification had already aligned the flight management system with the correct runway.