A new FAA Information for Operators (InFo 15016) recommends that helicopter pilots avoid conducting running landings in skid-equipped aircraft on runways with lighting systems embedded in the pavement. Contacting lighting of this type can cause damage to the skids, the agency said.
If a pilot chooses to perform a running landing due to operational safety considerations, the FAA suggests “landing off center to the side of centerline lights, landing beyond touchdown zone lights and avoiding high-speed taxiway centerline indicator lights to ensure that, throughout the maneuver, the skids do not contact the embedded lighting fixtures.”
Runways with centerline lights are at least 150 feet wide and touchdown zone lights occupy the first 3,000 feet of pavement beyond the threshold or half the runway length on runways that are less than 6,000 feet long. The InFo was published as the result of several incidents, including a May 7, 2015 event in which a Bell 206L-3 contacted the recessed centerline lights on a paved runway surface while practicing running landings, causing damage to the skids.
