Radio Failure Inside Haifa CTR
You are pilot-in-command of a Cessna 172S on a VFR flight from Herzliya (LLHZ) to Haifa (LLHA) with one passenger. At 1,500 ft AMSL, Haifa Approach clears you to enter the Haifa CTR, report on downwind for runway 24, squawk 7000. Weather is CAVOK, wind 290/12 kt. On downwind, about 1.5 nm from the threshold, the COM radio fails completely: no transmit or receive. You have not received a landing clearance. You still have 1 h 45 min of fuel, a serviceable transponder, and a handheld radio in your flight bag that is not connected to the aircraft antenna. You are inside controlled airspace and other traffic is in the circuit. The tower is visible to your right. You must decide what to do immediately, how to interpret any signal from the tower, and what to do after landing.
1. State your immediate actions after the radio failure, including the transponder setting and whether you may continue the approach. Explain your reasoning.
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Set the transponder to 7600 and continue to fly the aircraft visually. You are already cleared into the Haifa CTR and remain VFR, so you do not need to leave controlled airspace immediately, but you must keep clear of circuit traffic and watch the tower for light signals. A landing clearance can be given by signal, so continue the approach only if the circuit is clear and you receive a signal. If no signal is received, do not force a landing into traffic: go around, remain clear, and land at a suitable aerodrome. The key judgement is that radio failure does not automatically authorise an unannounced landing in a busy CTR; it requires visual separation, light-signal clearance, and a conservative go-around if anything is unclear.
2. The tower gives you a steady green light, then a flashing red light. What does each mean, and what do you do?
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A steady green light means cleared to land. A flashing red light means the aerodrome is unsafe for landing: do not land, give way to other traffic, and continue circling. Because the flashing red comes after the green, it cancels the landing clearance. Go around, climb to circuit height, keep the aircraft visual with other traffic, and look for a further signal. If no further signal is received, leave the circuit and divert to a suitable aerodrome, then report the radio failure by telephone. Do not treat the earlier green as still valid once the red has been shown.
3. Write the radio-telephony call you would make on the handheld radio after landing, and explain why it may not be heard.
Read the worked answer
A suitable call is: 'Haifa Ground, Cessna 172, landed runway 24, radio failure, request taxi and phone number.' The handheld is not connected to the aircraft antenna, so its range and signal quality are poor, especially inside a metal airframe. It may not reach the tower or ground controller. Therefore, after landing, stop in a safe area, do not block the runway, and report by telephone or in person. The call should be brief and include the fact that the aircraft had a complete radio failure so that ATC can coordinate.