Definition
Mistakes a pilot makes during the approach and landing phase as a result of visual illusions caused by runway shape, width, slope, terrain features, lighting conditions, or weather. These illusions distort the pilot's perception of height, distance, or glidepath angle, leading to approaches that are too high, too low, too fast, too slow, or misaligned.
Plain English
Mistakes pilots make on landing because their eyes are tricked by the runway, the terrain, or the weather into seeing the approach differently from how it really is.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of visual illusions during approach and landing, especially runway shape, runway slope, darkness, haze, or featureless terrain.
Why Pilots Care
These errors can cause hard landings, runway overruns, or undershoots that compromise safety.
Grounding Statement
If the runway view makes the airplane look higher or lower than it really is, the pilot may correct for a problem that is not actually there.
Intuition Check
Do not read landing errors as only meaning a bad touchdown. In this FAA context, the error can begin earlier on the approach, when the pilot misjudges height, distance, speed, or path because the outside view is misleading.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor warned that a narrow runway can cause landing errors because it makes the aircraft appear higher than it actually is.
Example Sentence 2
Optical illusions on a sloping runway can produce landing errors that lead to touching down short of the threshold.