Circle-to-Land Limitation on an ATP Certificate or Type Rating

A pilot may receive a circle-to-land limitation through an approved air carrier training and checking program restricting a circling approach in the specified airplane type to visual meteorological conditions (VMC) only. An example of the certificate notation would be: “CL-65 CIRC APCH VMC ONLY.” This restriction may be removed when the applicant receives training in the circling maneuver in the same type of airplane for which he or she has the limitation and satisfactorily demonstrates a circling approach and landing in that same airplane type with an appropriately qualified evaluator.

If as part of the approved air carrier training and checking program a pilot’s initial ATP certificate is issued concurrently with an airplane type rating and the circling maneuver is not checked, the ATP certificate would also have a circling limitation. For example, the certificate notation would be: “ATP CIRC APCH VMC ONLY, CL-65 CIRC APCH VMC ONLY.” This restriction may be removed from the ATP certificate upon completion of an evaluation of the circling maneuver tasks in an airplane representative of the class held on the applicant’s ATP certificate. The airplane used does not have to be type-specific, but should reflect a class of airplane for which the pilot has ATP privileges. Depending upon the airplane used, training may be required. The applicant must satisfactorily demonstrate a circling approach and landing to an appropriately qualified evaluator. However, if a CL-65 was not used for the circling evaluation, the limitation would be removed from the ATP certificate only and would remain for the CL-65 type rating. Removal of that limitation would require demonstration of the circling maneuver in type as described in the previous paragraph.