Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 545
No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types
General None Reported / Taken
Chart Or Publication; Environment - Non Weather Related; Procedure
ITO Runway 8 Visual Approaches; especially at night or marginal VFR conditions; constitutes increased risk and requires additional resources to mitigate this risk. The ITO airport information pages directs us to 'at night; plan on arrivals to Runway 26;' but tailwinds and wet runways often prevent this option. The airport information pages also directs us to 'follow the shoreline south to Hilo Bay to intercept Runway 8 final.' The issue is that the shoreline is only 1.5 NM west of the approach end of the extended centerline of Runway 8; which correlates to a maximum wings level altitude of 500 feet AGL upon rollout for a three degree glideslope. To even achieve this minimum; the approach requires 'cheating' by offsetting further inland over downtown Hilo prior to the turn to final; to account for the turn radius which would be even greater with increased speeds associated with a flaps 15; single engine approach (such as an ETOPS single engine divert event); or accepting a steeper glideslope and rate of descent. Additive conditions such as the common inclement weather and winds and relatively sparse ambient lighting associated with Hilo; high terrain; (Company) Crews' relative unfamiliarity with the new ITO service; and the short inter-island flight times (which limit time to brief and prepare for a challenging approach) all add to the increased risk. Inter-island flying is often benign; but the ITO Runway 8 Visual is a challenging approach under the best of circumstances and could surprise unfamiliar ETOPS Aircrew without adequate awareness and preparation.I recommend the following steps be taken to mitigate the ITO Runway 8 Visual.1. Expedite the creation of an RNAV visual to ITO Runway 8 to assist in situational awareness during the approach.2. Make all ITO Runway 8 approaches Captain Only landings until the RNAV 8 Approach is created. The descending left hand turn landing is even more challenging for the FO who has to look through the Captain during the approach; and the additional experience level of the Captain should help mitigate the risk.3. Increase awareness through RBF's; notes on weather packets and Dispatch Releases describing the risks associated with the ITO Runway 8 Approach.4. Encourage briefing of ITO Runway 8 Visual Approach procedures on the ground prior to departing for ITO when Runway 8 is in use; due to the short inter-island flight time.5. Add a module to ETOPS recurrent training specifically addressing the ITO Runway 8 operations.
Air Carrier Captain reported that there are several high risk elements associated with conducting Runway 8 visual approaches into ITO (PHTO) airport; especially when conducting the approach at night or in marginal VFR conditions; which is common at that location.