aircraft landing lights

[Pug1]

I guess this is one for "ask the pilot" and may have been covered before. I notice that landing lights are not always used when coming into an airport. Is there a policy on this from airline to airline or does it depend on the policy of the destination airport?

 

[OzEire]

Do you mean the main lights in the passenger cabin? That some airlines dim and others don't ?

 

[Pug1]

Do you mean the main lights in the passenger cabin? That some airlines dim and others don't ?

OzEire, i meant the spotlights in front of the wings

 

[straitman]

I think you will find the the a/c landing lights are 'normally' always used for normal operations. The variation may just be about when they are turned on. They are sometimes left off in a training scenario just to prove the point in case they actually become inoperative.

 

[OzEire]

OzEire, i meant the spotlights in front of the wings

Ok, thanks, I was just clarifying since I had never known landing lights to be off when landing.

Thanks to Straitman for the pilot's response.

 

[Pug1]

I think you will find the the a/c landing lights are 'normally' always used for normal operations. The variation may just be about when they are turned on. They are sometimes left off in a training scenario just to prove the point in case they actually become inoperative.

Thanks Straitman. reason I asked is that on a recent QF1 landing in Dubai none of the planes on approach seemed to have landing lights on and it was a night landing.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

They are always on for landing and takeoff on commercial airliners any time of the day.