SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/pilot-haze-illusion

Atmospheric haze tends to make a pilot do what on an approach?

Fly too low, because the runway looks farther away and higher than it is.

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  1. Fly too low ✔
  2. Fly too fast
  3. Turn final too early

Why: Haze makes the runway seem farther away, so the pilot feels high and ends up low on the approach. Very clear air does the reverse and can make the pilot feel closer than they are.

Huh, didn't know that: Extremely clear air at a high-altitude airport can make a pilot fly a high approach.

The dad joke
Why was the pilot confused on approach? Everything was a little hazy.
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References

Answer: Fly too low. Haze makes the runway seem farther away, so the pilot feels high and ends up low on the approach. Very clear air does the reverse and can make the pilot feel closer than they are.

  1. FAA AIM Chapter 8, Medical Facts for Pilots www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/chap8_section_1.html
    atmospheric haze the illusion of being at a greater distance from the runway. The pilot who does not recognize these illusions will fly a lower approach.
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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