AirMed required pilots to apply an incorrect landing distance factor, which reduced the safety margin when determining the required landing distance at a destination aerodrome. Furthermore, its procedures were unclear on how the factor should be applied, when the assessment should be conducted and how runway surface condition should be considered.
The operator's changes to procedures incorporating a revision of the landing distance factor, specific factoring for wet runways, timing of performance calculations, and guidance around the use of flight planning tools, increases the safety margin when calculating landing distance and is now consistent with current regulations.
AirMed updated its operations manual to require the use of a 60% landing distance factor and additional factoring for wet runway operations. Additionally, it included the requirement to conduct a landing distance calculation both before take‑off and prior to landing, and added guidance on the applicability of options when using either tabulated data or flight planning software.
