Radio Failure on Arrival at Salalah
You are arriving VFR at Salalah from the east in a Cessna 172 at 2,000 ft AMSL. The controller has cleared you to enter the control zone, report 10 NM, and expect a right base for runway 25. Two minutes later, the radio fails completely. You can hear nothing and your transmissions are not acknowledged. The aircraft has a serviceable Mode C transponder. Weather is CAVOK, wind 240/12 kt, and you are 8 NM east of the zone boundary. The tower is visible, and there is other traffic in the circuit. You have 1 h 20 min fuel and no alternate.
1. What are your first actions after the radio failure?
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First, maintain VFR and remain clear of other traffic. Squawk 7600 on the transponder, because that alerts ATC to a radio failure even if you cannot speak. Try the other radio, check headset plugs, volume, and the audio panel, and try a backup handheld if carried. If the failure is confirmed, continue according to the last clearance and the published radio-failure procedures for the aerodrome. Do not enter the control zone blindly: establish whether you are already inside it. If you are outside, remain outside or join the visual circuit only when you can do so safely and in accordance with the published procedure. Make blind transmissions in case your transmitter is working but your receiver is not.
2. The tower gives you a light signal. What do the signals mean in the air, and how should you respond?
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In the air, a steady green light means cleared to land; a flashing green means return for landing and await a steady green before landing. A steady red means give way to other aircraft and continue circling. A flashing red means the aerodrome is unsafe; do not land. Alternating red and green means danger; acknowledge and take appropriate action. On the ground, the meanings differ, but you are airborne. Watch the tower continuously, acknowledge signals by rocking the wings if safe, and do not turn onto final until you receive a clear signal or are certain of the procedure. Keep a good lookout because other aircraft may not know you have no radio.
3. Describe how you would join and land, and what you would do after landing.
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Join the circuit in a standard direction if that is the published procedure, or follow the light signals. Keep the circuit wide enough to see other traffic, and make blind position calls such as 'Salalah Traffic, Juliette Alpha Bravo, 5 miles east, joining downwind, radio failure.' If the tower gives a steady green, land normally. After landing, clear the runway as soon as safe, stop at a suitable point, and contact ATC by telephone or ask ground staff to inform the tower. Do not leave the aircraft blocking a taxiway. Write down the time and nature of the failure for the engineering report. If you cannot establish communication, follow the aerodrome's published radio-failure procedure and expect to be escorted or instructed by light signals.