Plain English Meaning

A runway that tilts downhill from where you land toward where you stop. Because of how it looks from the air, your brain can be fooled into thinking you are too high, when you are actually right on the proper glidepath, or even low.

Full Definition

A runway whose surface slopes downward from the approach end toward the far end, so the touchdown zone sits higher than the rollout area. On final approach, a downsloping runway can create the visual illusion that the aircraft is higher than it actually is, prompting the pilot to fly a lower-than-normal approach.

Context Anchor

Encountered during visual and discussions of illusions.