Is landing safe even in bad weather conditions?
Yes, the right kind of equipment helps bring the plane down safely, as bad as the weather may be even in thick fog. To operate in bad weather, of course, planes and airports need to be equipped with the necessary technology, and the pilots need to be highly trained. Depending on their equipment, aircraft and airports are classified into different categories for bad-weather operation I, II, Ilia, IIIb and IIIc. Besides technical requirements, these categories specify the operating limits for the pilot, such as the minimum altitude from which he must be able to sight the end of the runway, and the degree of visibility ahead. In the industry jargon, these are known as the ‘decision height’ and ‘horizontal runway visibility’. The lowest category Category I requires a minimum decision height of 60 metres and visibility down the runway of at least 550 metres. With such limits a Category I airport, for example, would have to close in thick fog.
