Originally Posted by
otari99
As an outsider looking in (I'm an Electrical Engineer), I wonder what role and responsibility, if any, the control tower plays relative to monitoring aircraft trajectory?
Please excuse my ignorance on this.
Thanks.
On a visual approach, absolutely no responsibility. They don't have the SA or expertise, and they have other things to do (manage aircraft separation). And frankly getting that low and slow on a visual is ludicrously bad piloting (for an airline), almost stretching credibility...I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. Even then I wouldn't have believed it if it wasn't for the long history of "Power Distance" CRM issues in Asian cockpits.
On an instrument approach, if the tower has a radar feed from approach, they may get automated altitude alerts if you descend below published mins on an approach segment, and they would then alert you. But it's still not their primary responsibility.