Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Flight Engineer; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100; Flight Crew Total 8000; Flight Crew Type 350
Distraction; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Inflight Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Executed Go Around / Missed Approach; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification
Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors
While being vectored to ILS runway 24R at LAX; the So Cal controller asked us to follow another Heavy. At the time; there was a thick layer of smoke from the fire to the west between our altitude (3000 MSL) and airport; and while LAX was reporting 10 SM vis; the inflight visibility was 1-2 SM. Turning right base; we had the traffic to follow in sight; but he soon entered the smoke and we lost sight. The controller asked us multiple times if we had the airport in sight; which we did not due to the heavy layer of smoke. Due to the distraction of trying to follow an aircraft we could no longer see; as well as trying to locate the airport through the smoke; we undershot the localizer and the controller appropriately broke us out and re-vectored us. The second time we concentrated on capturing and flying the localizer. Once we got 4-5 miles from the runway; the visibility was fine and we continued the approach mostly via visual references.The use of a visual approach and directions to follow traffic in front may not have been appropriate; as the inflight visibility didn't support visual flight conditions until much lower and closer to the airport. The LAX ATIS didn't really indicate the impact of the smoke; as the visibility was 8-10 miles below the smoke layer. I was Pilot Flying; in retrospect I should have directed the Pilot Not Flying to tell the approach controller that the flight visibility didn't support visual approaches.
The Captain of a transport aircraft on a training flight reported that smoke from nearby fire obscured portions of the final approach segments even though the airport was reporting VFR visibilities.