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Approach Lights Inspection
Drone-based approach lighting system inspection. Pattern, chromaticity, intensity build-up, coverage, dimming steps and sequenced flashing frequency…
AUG 03 2026
4 MIN
RUNWAY LIGHTING SYSTEM · ICAO ANNEX 14
Runway edge lights, measured unit by unit
A row of edge lights fails one fixture at a time, and a walking check only tells you which ones are lit. We fly the row and measure every unit: intensity against distance, colour, beam shape and surveyed position. The dark unit and the unit running at half its neighbours both come back named.
30+
measurements per light
CIE x,y
chromaticity + colour temperature
±15°
horizontal coverage sector
RTK ±1 cm
position and spacing survey
One row, three ways past it
Which pass we fly depends on what the row has to prove. Most inspections use more than one, in a single sortie.
Over the row, alongside it, and from the approach
A fly-over tracks directly above the lights end to end, so each unit is measured looking down its own beam. A parallel side sweep runs offset outboard of the row at a fixed standoff, which is how beam shape across the horizontal sector gets sampled. An observation arc sits out on the approach at the glide path height and looks back down the runway, which is the pattern the crew actually sees. Every pass is generated from your surveyed light positions, so the drone frames each unit rather than hunting for it.
Each light carries its own record, and its neighbours
Every unit is tracked across the footage and scored on its own: intensity at fixed reference distances, how fast the beam rises and falls, beam width and symmetry, CIE chromaticity and colour temperature, halo and edge sharpness, plus its spacing and alignment against the surveyed row. Because the whole row is measured in one pass, each unit is also scored against its neighbours, which is what catches the fixture still lit but running well under the rest of the row. A gap where a unit should be is reported as a missing light, not as silence.
VERIFIED PARAMETERS
What the report answers
The runway lighting rows of the visual aids protocol, each with the tolerance it is judged against.
9 parameters
ICAO Annex 14 Vol I
Parameter
What is verified
Tolerance
01
Pattern configuration
The runway light pattern is the correct shape for the runway and its category.
Tolerance
Per ICAO Annex 14
02
Chromaticity
Every unit emits the correct colour for its position in the pattern, and no red filter has faded out of specification.
Tolerance
Per ICAO Annex 14
03
Intensity
Threshold, edge and end light intensity, and the ratio between the parts of the system, are correct along the whole runway.
Tolerance
≥ 85% of nominal
04
Horizontal coverage
The pattern stays visible across the sector either side of the runway axis.
Tolerance
min ±15°
05
Vertical coverage
The pattern stays visible through the approach sector as the aircraft descends.
Tolerance
0° to 15°
06
Dimming steps
Every unit changes intensity together and by the commanded step, and the runway system tracks the approach system without visually vanishing beside it.
Tolerance
3 of 3 steps
07
Spacing and alignment
Each unit sits at its surveyed position along the row, and any gap left by a dark unit is reported against the light it belongs to.
Tolerance
RTK ±1 cm
08
Standby power
The pattern is unchanged when the airfield transfers to its standby supply.
Tolerance
No change
09
Misleading lights
No light near the runway can be mistaken for the runway system, and none dazzles the crew.
Tolerance
None recorded
Tolerances per ICAO Annex 14 Vol I and ICAO Doc 9157 Part 4. Reports are issued in your authority's format for ICAO, EASA or FAA.
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