At 3000 feet remaining on a precision runway, which lighting change occurs?

At 3000 feet remaining on a precision runway, which lighting change occurs?

• A. Runway centerline lights begin to alternate white and red.
• B. Runway edge lights begin to change from white to yellow for the rest of the runway.
• C. Centerline lights turn red.
• D. Threshold lights illuminate.

Answer: (B)

Runway lighting uses color changes along the length to give you distance and end-of-runway awareness. On a precision approach runway, the edge lights are white for most of the length, but in the final portion they switch to amber to signal you’re approaching the end of the usable runway. At 3,000 feet remaining, you’d see the edge lights change to yellow for the remaining distance, providing a clear cue to prepare for landing and rollout. This cue is specific to the edge lighting and distance to the runway end. Other lighting patterns—such as centerline lights changing color or pattern, or threshold lights—follow different rules and distances, so they don’t describe the change described in this scenario.

Runway lighting uses color changes along the length to give you distance and end-of-runway awareness. On a precision approach runway, the edge lights are white for most of the length, but in the final portion they switch to amber to signal you’re approaching the end of the usable runway. At 3,000 feet remaining, you’d see the edge lights change to yellow for the remaining distance, providing a clear cue to prepare for landing and rollout.

This cue is specific to the edge lighting and distance to the runway end. Other lighting patterns—such as centerline lights changing color or pattern, or threshold lights—follow different rules and distances, so they don’t describe the change described in this scenario.