Hi everyone,

Just wanted to mentioned you all that today, SFO had traffic landing on runway 10L. This took place around 4:30pm (0030z) with JetBlue 536 being the first one to land and SFO is still landing on runway 10L at of 11:30pm (0730z). What a special yet rare treat. Too bad it didn't occur during the day or it would've been some good footage to get.

SFO ATIS INFO F 0656Z. 03012KT
10SM OVC049 08/05 A3014 (THREE ZERO ONE FOUR)
RMK AO2 SLP205. RNAV GPS RWY 10L APP IN USE.
LNDG RWYS 10L. DEPG RWYS 10R.
NOTAMS... TWY C3 CLSD, TWY U CLSD. TWY C CLSD
BETWEEN TAXIWAY ZULU AND SIGNATURE RAMP, TWY
D CLSD BETWEEN TWY C, RWY 28R, TWY R CLSD
BETWEEN TWY C, RWY 28L. BIRD ACTV IN VCY OF
AP. ...ADVS YOU HAVE INFO F.

KSFO 202056Z 12013KT 10SM FEW043 BKN120 12/06 A3009 RMK AO2 SLP188 T01170061 58019
KSFO 202156Z 09010KT 10SM BKN043 BKN060 12/07 A3008 RMK AO2 SLP185 T01170067
KSFO 202256Z 08010KT 10SM FEW038 BKN044 OVC200 12/07 A3006 RMK AO2 SLP179 T01220072
KSFO 202356Z 06011KT 10SM FEW038 SCT044 OVC200 11/07 A3007 RMK AO2 SLP182 T01110067 10122 20089 55006
KSFO 210056Z 07016KT 10SM FEW044 SCT049 OVC200 11/06 A3008 RMK AO2 SLP184 T01060061
KSFO 210156Z 07013KT 10SM FEW044 SCT050 BKN200 10/06 A3009 RMK AO2 SLP189 T01000061
KSFO 210256Z 07014KT 10SM FEW044 SCT050 BKN180 09/06 A3010 RMK AO2 SLP191 T00940061 51009
KSFO 210356Z 07012KT 10SM FEW050 SCT150 OVC180 09/06 A3010 RMK AO2 SLP193 T00940061
KSFO 210456Z 04007KT 10SM FEW044 BKN049 BKN160 09/06 A3012 RMK AO2 SLP200 T00940056
KSFO 210556Z 07010KT 10SM FEW044 BKN050 BKN160 09/06 A3013 RMK AO2 SLP202 T00940056 10111 20089 51012
KSFO 210656Z 06011KT 10SM OVC049 08/05 A3014 RMK AO2 SLP205 T00830050

I remember landing on the 10s quite a few years ago on an AI 777-200LR, DEL-SFO. Beautiful approach over the coast, past Pacifica and then South San Francisco.

Landing on the 10s is rare, yet nowhere near as rare as landing on 1R. Now that's a wild and exhilarating experience unlike any other:

https://youtu.be/jQarK6jQTZ0
https://youtu.be/ruHl9BmujyQ

It has been a great year for non-standard ops at SFO. Multiple days of 19 departures with the possibility of more this week. All we need is a day of circle to land to 1R to cap it off!

DL311, a 763 from JFK tried twice on the 10s before bailing and going to OAK last night. 3+ hours on the ground, so not a simple gas and go. Looong trip for those passengers. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL3 ... /KJFK/KOAK

ucdtim17 wrote:

DL311, a 763 from JFK tried twice on the 10s before bailing and going to OAK last night. 3+ hours on the ground, so not a simple gas and go. Looong trip for those passengers. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL3 ... /KJFK/KOAK

That's gotta be particularly annoying for those SFO-terminating pax who could've just gotten on the BART on been where they wanted to be, in less time. Especially if that destination was OAK itself.

LAX772LR wrote:

ucdtim17 wrote:

DL311, a 763 from JFK tried twice on the 10s before bailing and going to OAK last night. 3+ hours on the ground, so not a simple gas and go. Looong trip for those passengers. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL3 ... /KJFK/KOAK

That's gotta be particularly annoying for those SFO-terminating pax who could've just gotten on the BART on been where they wanted to be, in less time. Especially if that destination was OAK itself.

I’ve heard of other domestic flights where they do allow passengers to get off at the diversion airport if they don’t have checked luggage. For example, my dad was on AS into SFO and got diverted to SJC. They allowed passengers to get off at SJC and find alternative transportation if they wished.

To your point, that has to be frustrating. I flew into SJC about 20 years ago and it was a big diversion day at SFO. UA had quite a few international arrivals diverted to SJC. 767s and 777s parked all over. AC was on the ground there too. 4-5 hours later I could hear them taking off for the short flight to SFO. You could ride a bike from SJC-SFO in less than half the time those people were stuck on the planes at SJC.

BoeingGuy wrote:

LAX772LR wrote:

To your point, that has to be frustrating. I flew into SJC about 20 years ago and it was a big diversion day at SFO. UA had quite a few international arrivals diverted to SJC. 767s and 777s parked all over. AC was on the ground there too. 4-5 hours later I could hear them taking off for the short flight to SFO. You could ride a bike from SJC-SFO in less than half the time those people were stuck on the planes at SJC.

International flights going to SFO and then gets diverted, yeah, those folks are going to be sitting at their alternate airport for awhile. I remember this one time, either in December 2012 or January 2013 when the ANA flight from Seattle got diverted to SFO because Seattle was so foggy. While the Seattle flight sat at the A-side gate in SFO (I still remember A-6 at the time), some passengers actually had a connecting flight from SEA to SFO and those passengers had asked if they can disembark. Although I thought it was a good idea by saving a trip, unfortunately I had to deny them that request as SFO was not their port of entry, even though some of those same passengers were US citizens. You can imagine that "friendly" discussion we had. I had to tell them that it is not an airline rule that it was CBP's rule and if they wanted to get faced with a big fine from them, then they could try getting off the plane. They tried but fortunately for me, a CBP officer came to the gate to find out why the Seattle flight got diverted to SFO. That same CBP officer was kind enough to explain/confirm to the passenger what I had just said moments earlier. Yes, there were some flights landing in SEA however, if I recall correctly, even though the aircraft was CAT certified, the crew weren't. Just bad luck on that day. I advised our station manager at the time that the weather in SEA wasn't going to improve until another 5 fives, give or take based on the forecast at that time. I convinced our station manager to talk to CBP to see if we could disembark the passenger and send that aircraft back to SEA as a ferry flight or back to Japan, forgot which way. After a couple of hours, CBP was kind enough to grant us permission, so all the pax from that Seattle flight got to clear CBP in SFO and those who had connecting flight to SFO, well, they got what they wanted.

The point here is, just because you are a US citizen, you are flying on a US flag carrier or foreign and your flight got diverted to, say SFO, even though your flight is destine to LAX doesn't mean you can clear CBP in SFO and continue your journey to LAX. Since LAX is your port of entry and you got diverted to SFO, well, you gonna be sitting in the plane in SFO for awhile until whatever reason why you got diverted in the first place is cleared up. Now, I don't recall how long you have to wait for CBP can grant your flight permission to disembark at the diverted airport or if they even want to because at the end of the day, its CBP's decision to make, not the airline. Food for thought.

Wow, I wish I could have seen arrivals on the 10's. That's the only arrivals I have never seen in person. Though probably not as thrilling as circling to land on the 1's. https://youtu.be/-c45u29eKFg This was back in Feb 2020 when the wind was howling for hours on end and so many people went to SFO to watch the landing's on the 1's. Anyways, I wish there was some sort of notifications to be alerted of these different approaches at SFO. I would totally jam up from San Jose to see these arrivals whether it's on the 10's or on the 1's.

adipasqu wrote:

It has been a great year for non-standard ops at SFO. Multiple days of 19 departures with the possibility of more this week. All we need is a day of circle to land to 1R to cap it off!

Yes, I agree that this year will be many chances to see non-standard ops in SFO. Weather forecasted for this season shows that we may get 1R landing in mid to late spring and maybe, a big maybe, another 10L/R landings late winter. Again, if mother nature wants to be nice and give us that chance, For those you live in the Bay Area and familiar with SFO, I hope you got your plane spotting spot picked out should we get another chance for runway 10L/R landings and hope it occurs during that daytime too. Gotta stay on top of the TAF reports. As for the plane spotting locations, 3 places come to mind:

1). The parking garage at Tanforan Mall (you made need a good zooming lens)
2). The new Long-Term parking garage that was built and,
3). The parking garage on WestField road. Although that garage is only accessed for airline employees, you can still ride the elevator to the top. Which means, you need to park your car somewhere, take the air train and get off at the WestField stop and walk to the garage.

Both 2 & 3 are good locations as they are the closest, especially #3.

Below is a photo I took some 4 years ago when SFO was landing aircrafts on runway 10L

https://flightaware.com/photos/view/2973473-dcf8218bcf3f0908b15eb700b67344bbca560f05/user/raptor84/sort/votes/page/1

atsiang wrote:

I wish there was some sort of notifications to be alerted of these different approaches at SFO. I would totally jam up from San Jose to see these arrivals whether it's on the 10's or on the 1's.

I agree. Would be nice to have an alert. The closest I can think of is reading up on the TAF report daily and reading up on the forecast discussion.

atsiang wrote:

Wow, I wish I could have seen arrivals on the 10's. That's the only arrivals I have never seen in person. Though probably not as thrilling as circling to land on the 1's. https://youtu.be/-c45u29eKFg This was back in Feb 2020 when the wind was howling for hours on end and so many people went to SFO to watch the landing's on the 1's. Anyways, I wish there was some sort of notifications to be alerted of these different approaches at SFO. I would totally jam up from San Jose to see these arrivals whether it's on the 10's or on the 1's.

I landed on one of the 10s in an AS 73G about 12 years ago. I grew up in the area so know it well. I assumed we were going to land on the 28s, as normal.

We were off a coastline going straight in and it sure didn’t look like the Dumbarton Bridge area on the bay. I was a bit confused for a moment. Then I realized we were right off Golden Gate Park and the Great Ocean Highway. Went right down over Daly City and the gap though Colma. It was a rare treat.

The AA connecting flight departed on 1R a few hours later, unfortunately.

wxman11 wrote:

Yes, I agree that this year will be many chances to see non-standard ops in SFO. Weather forecasted for this season shows that we may get 1R landing in mid to late spring and maybe, a big maybe, another 10L/R landings late winter. Again, if mother nature wants to be nice and give us that chance,

Actually, I was looking back at the last 01R arrivals thread (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1456867) and they were using 01R on January 19, 2021. So, unless I am mistaken, that means they have used every runway direction for both take-off's and landings this year at SFO. That's just crazy!

atsiang wrote:

Wow, I wish I could have seen arrivals on the 10's. That's the only arrivals I have never seen in person. Though probably not as thrilling as circling to land on the 1's. https://youtu.be/-c45u29eKFg This was back in Feb 2020 when the wind was howling for hours on end and so many people went to SFO to watch the landing's on the 1's. Anyways, I wish there was some sort of notifications to be alerted of these different approaches at SFO. I would totally jam up from San Jose to see these arrivals whether it's on the 10's or on the 1's.

If you ever hear in the weather forecast the words "Strong Diablo Winds" then weather conditions may be ripe for the circle to land 01R landings, although it is never guaranteed. They only do it when they absolutely have to as it kills the arrival rate, so as soon as the winds let up enough so that the 28's are no longer out of crosswind limits for most aircraft, they switch away from this arrival quickly. Luckily, I live in San Bruno and have been able to get to the Millbrae BART parking lot in 10 minutes with my kids in tow after learning this arrival was in use. They were enthralled...maybe even as much as I was.

Hi folks,

Looking over at the TAF for SFO, it appears that maybe, maybe, SFO might have some flights land on the 1's . I say, continue to monitor the forecast and pray that it happens. Should the winds be in our favor, get your camera's ready and hopefully someone can do a live stream.

KSFO 201503Z 2015/2118 19004KT 1/4SM FG VV002 WS020/04030KT
FM211000 VRB04KT P6SM SKC WS020/03030KT

If I am reading the TAF correctly, the wind shear is forecasted 40 degrees at 30 knots at 2000 feet AGL. Winds at the field are forecasted to be light (19004KT), which would keep everything in normal flow for SFO. Now, we might get some missed approaches due to wind shear alerts, however.

adipasqu wrote:

If I am reading the TAF correctly, the wind shear is forecasted 40 degrees at 30 knots at 2000 feet AGL. Winds at the field are forecasted to be light (19004KT), which would keep everything in normal flow for SFO. Now, we might get some missed approaches due to wind shear alerts, however.

True. But good to keep an eye out.

Here is the decoded TAF from https://www.aviationweather.gov/:

TAF for: KSFO (San Francisco Intl, CA, US) issued at 1503 UTC 20 Jan 2022
Text: KSFO 201503Z 2015/2118 19004KT 1/4SM FG VV002 WS020/04030KT
Forecast period: 1500 to 1630 UTC 20 January 2022
Forecast type: FROM: standard forecast or significant change
Winds: from the S (190 degrees) at 5 MPH (4 knots; 2.1 m/s)
Visibility: 0.25 sm ( 0.40 km)
Ceiling: indefinite ceiling with vertical visibility of 200 feet AGL
Clouds: obscured sky
Weather: FG (fog)
Wind Shear: 40 degrees at 30 knots at 2000 feet AGL

In any event, the circling minimums are 1560-3, so this fog is going to have to burn off before any chance of a 01R landing.

wxman11 wrote:

True. But good to keep an eye out.

Always! If I could only set up a text alert tied to the METAR for SFO to let me know when conditions will be ripe for 01R landings, I'd be set!

Curious with these rare landings - are there times when the flight crew is doing this for the first time at SFO?

seat1a wrote:

Curious with these rare landings - are there times when the flight crew is doing this for the first time at SFO?

Yes. The last time it happened on a weekend, I went to the Millbrae BART station parking garage where there were about 25 people watching the landings. Many of them were pilots. Two, a husband and wife, (Captains if I remember correctly) flew for United based out of SFO, one on the 737 and the other on the A320. Struck up a conversation with both of them and neither of them had done the approach yet in their careers, even though SFO was their home base and had been for many years. They said most pilots would be lucky to do it once in their careers due to how infrequent the Circle to Land 01R is used. At most, its only use a day or two in any given year and only because they have to due to crosswind limits on the 28's. It can't be used as night and as soon as the winds are no longer out of limit for the 28's, they switch back. One of them mused about picking up a quick turn to LAX right then and there for the opportunity to fly it. The other was on vacation, so it wasn't in the cards. I then asked them, if you were the Pilot Monitoring and on approach to SFO learned that Circle to Land on 01R was in effect, would you take over? Without hesitation, they both answered absolutely! A rare treat for pilots, it seems...

adipasqu wrote:

seat1a wrote:

Curious with these rare landings - are there times when the flight crew is doing this for the first time at SFO?

Yes. The last time it happened on a weekend, I went to the Millbrae BART station parking garage where there were about 25 people watching the landings. Many of them were pilots. Two, a husband and wife, (Captains if I remember correctly) flew for United based out of SFO, one on the 737 and the other on the A320. Struck up a conversation with both of them and neither of them had done the approach yet in their careers, even though SFO was their home base and had been for many years. They said most pilots would be lucky to do it once in their careers due to how infrequent the Circle to Land 01R is used. At most, its only use a day or two in any given year and only because they have to due to crosswind limits on the 28's. It can't be used as night and as soon as the winds are no longer out of limit for the 28's, they switch back. One of them mused about picking up a quick turn to LAX right then and there for the opportunity to fly it. The other was on vacation, so it wasn't in the cards. I then asked them, if you were the Pilot Monitoring and on approach to SFO learned that Circle to Land on 01R was in effect, would you take over? Without hesitation, they both answered absolutely! A rare treat for pilots, it seems...

Thanks for the reply and great story. Love hearing that pilots would pick it up in a minute! They would enter Circle to Land and do prep during that time? Is this a unique approach for narrow-body aircraft alone?

seat1a wrote:

Thanks for the reply and great story. Love hearing that pilots would pick it up in a minute! They would enter Circle to Land and do prep during that time? Is this a unique approach for narrow-body aircraft alone?

I am not a pilot, so I can't say for sure what the procedure would be for a change in approach/runway arrival that had not been previously briefed. Typically, the approach is the normal ILS to 28L, which is broken off at the San Mateo Bridge to circle around for the visual to 01R. There is also an RNAV Visual chart that some airlines have for the landing:

https://imgur.com/mj0RD0m

We saw many widebodies doing it that day, 777's and I think the BA 744 as well did it right before I arrived, so it is not limited to narrow bodies. There are pictures in this thread of the 01R spectacular including 777's and 787's:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1456867

adipasqu wrote:

seat1a wrote:

Thanks for the reply and great story. Love hearing that pilots would pick it up in a minute! They would enter Circle to Land and do prep during that time? Is this a unique approach for narrow-body aircraft alone?

I am not a pilot, so I can't say for sure what the procedure would be for a change in approach/runway arrival that had not been previously briefed. Typically, the approach is the normal ILS to 28L, which is broken off at the San Mateo Bridge to circle around for the visual to 01R. There is also an RNAV Visual chart that some airlines have for the landing:

https://imgur.com/mj0RD0m

We saw many widebodies doing it that day, 777's and I think the BA 744 as well did it right before I arrived, so it is not limited to narrow bodies. There are pictures in this thread of the 01R spectacular including 777's and 787's:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1456867

Back in the late 90s I was watching landings on 1R at SFO and the pilot of a Singapore Airlines 747 asked the tower if he could land on the 28s instead of 1R and the tower said "no, we have been doing this all day". Everything worked out okay but the pilot sounded nervous about landing on 1R.

dfwjim1 wrote:

Back in the late 90s I was watching landings on 1R at SFO and the pilot of a Singapore Airlines 747 asked the tower if he could land on the 28s instead of 1R and the tower said "no, we have been doing this all day". Everything worked out okay but the pilot sounded nervous about landing on 1R.

This doesn't surprise me. We did see a few international widebodies use 28R while the Circle to Land to 01R was in effect for most landings last time I was there. There are no Cat D minimums for the circle maneuver, so it might not be available to some aircraft and they just deal with the very strong crosswinds if within the aircrafts limits and they do not have the RNAV visual available to them.

Is this circle to land on 1R any more difficult than a similarly windy circle to land at EWR on runway 29? I've done that one a few times on a windy day and it's quite a ride.

fanoftristars wrote:

Is this circle to land on 1R any more difficult than a similarly windy circle to land at EWR on runway 29? I've done that one a few times on a windy day and it's quite a ride.

Well, sure, with respect to having rising terrain 2/3 of a mile south from the end of 1R, I'd say it's a little more difficult at SFO.

wxman11 wrote:

atsiang wrote:

I wish there was some sort of notifications to be alerted of these different approaches at SFO. I would totally jam up from San Jose to see these arrivals whether it's on the 10's or on the 1's.

I agree. Would be nice to have an alert. The closest I can think of is reading up on the TAF report daily and reading up on the forecast discussion.

Follow the airport on Twitter. They've been known to tweet unusual or interesting conditions for photographers as it's a spotter-friendly airport.

Strong Off-shore Winds are forecasted today for the San Francisco Bay area starting late morning, so there is a possibility for some Circle to Land 01R action today. Current METAR and TAF:

KSFO 211556Z 00000KT 10SM FEW200 08/07 A3022 RMK AO2 SLP232 T00830067

KSFO 211459Z 2115/2218 VRB04KT P6SM SKC WS015/03035KT
FM211900 02010KT P6SM SKC WS020/03040KT
FM212200 02016G30KT P6SM SKC
FM220200 01012G24KT P6SM SKC WS015/03040KT
FM220800 04008KT P6SM SKC WS015/03035KT

adipasqu wrote:

Strong Off-shore Winds are forecasted today for the San Francisco Bay area starting late morning, so there is a possibility for some Circle to Land 01R action today.

Funny. Didn't I give the heads up yesterday?? Looking at the forecast models, it could be a possibility that SFO may have from flight land on the 1's. We'll see.

According to the ATCSCC advisory 66:

TERMINAL CONSTRAINTS:
CLT - LOW CEILINGS/LOW VISIBILITY/SNOW
ATL - LOW CIGS/LOW VISIBILITY/DRIZZLE
MSP - LOW VISIBILITY/SNOW
DEN/ZDV/SLC/ZLC SKI COUNTRY - LOW CEILINGS/VISIBILITY/SNOW
SEA - LOW CEILINGS
SFO/LAS/LAX - WIND

wxman11 wrote:

Funny. Didn't I give the heads up yesterday??

You did, you did. You were just a day early, although it doesn't look too promising now. Only forecasting 02015G25KT for 220100Z. I don't think 25KT gusts will be enough for landings being forced to 01R. In the past, they have been in excess of 35KT sustained before switching over.

The 10's are in use right now for arrivals and departures due to winds:

KSFO 221656Z 10010KT 10SM SCT200 14/04 A3014 RMK AO2 SLP206 T01390044

It doesn't look like it will shift to the 01's, however:

KSFO 221500Z 2215/2318 07011KT P6SM SKC WS015/04035KT
TEMPO 2215/2217 07014G22KT
FM221700 06009KT P6SM SKC
FM230400 05004KT P6SM SKC

Strong winds out of the north are forecasted for the SF Bay Area for the next 24-72 hours, so depending on the direction and how strong the gusts get, we could get some Circle to Land 01R action. Right now, the METAR TAF doesn't show ideal conditions yet, but let's keep an eye on it incase things align:

KSFO 010056Z 29015KT 10SM FEW016 BKN200 13/09 A3009 RMK AO2 SLP190 T01280089

KSFO 312335Z 0100/0206 28012KT P6SM BKN200
FM010600 28008KT P6SM SCT250
FM011200 01010KT P6SM FEW250
FM011900 33010G22KT P6SM SKC
FM012200 32012G27KT P6SM SKC

adipasqu wrote:

Strong winds out of the north are forecasted for the SF Bay Area for the next 24-72 hours, so depending on the direction and how strong the gusts get, we could get some Circle to Land 01R action. Right now, the METAR TAF doesn't show ideal conditions yet, but let's keep an eye on it in case things align

Today, its iffy, tomorrow, maybe. Updated TAF

KSFO 011505Z 0115/0218 27005KT P6SM FEW008 WS020/01030KT
FM011700 35015G24KT P6SM SKC
FM012200 34018G25KT P6SM SKC
FM021200 36008G16KT P6SM SKC WS020/03035KT
FM021700 01020G30KT P6SM SKC