When an aircraft approaches a brightly lit runway over dark water or unlit terrain, the lack of peripheral visual cues tricks the pilot's brain. The runway appears to be floating, causing the pilot to feel they are flying higher than their actual altitude. This illusion frequently leads to pilots flying a dangerously low glide path and risking a crash short of the runway threshold.
Heard on the job
Watch your altitude on the visual approach into runway two seven, it has a notorious black hole effect over the lake.
Insider tip
Pilots are trained to rely strictly on their altimeter and glide slope indicators rather than their eyes when flying a black hole approach.
Also heard as
- black hole illusion
- featureless terrain illusion