Are you legal to land?

Nov 3, 2026

You are Skyhawk 172RB and you're cleared to land Runway 5 left. This is your view on short final. Are you legal to land?

AYes, I'm cleared and lined up on 5L

A landing clearance only covers the runway named in it. The beginning of the runway is marked with green threshold lights and white edge lights. Here you can see blue edge lights and green centerline lights. Option D is the answer 💡

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BNo, that's a closed runway

A closed runway is marked with a yellow X at each end, and a temporary closure may get a raised, lighted yellow X. A permanently closed runway has its lighting disconnected. Option D is the answer 🌙

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CYes, but I'm slightly low on glidepath

That PAPI belongs to 5R, off to your right. A PAPI's red lights are always the ones closest to its runway, and these are on the right. Flying below the glide path isn't legal anyway (91.129(e)(3)). Option D is the answer 🛬

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DNo, that's a taxiway

You got it 👍

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Pick an answer. You can try as many as you like.

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The explanation

D. No, that's a taxiway

At night, the airport lighting tells you what you're looking at. Each type of pavement has its own colors.

Runway and taxiway lights

Runway edge lights -- White. On an instrument runway, yellow replaces white on the last 2,000 feet or half the runway length, whichever is less, as a caution zone.
Runway threshold lights -- Green, in a row across the approach end of the runway.
Runway centerline lights -- White, where installed. They change to alternating red and white, then all red, near the far end.
Taxiway edge lights -- Blue.
Taxiway centerline lights -- Green.

In the video, the pavement ahead has blue edge lights and green centerline lights. That's a taxiway. The runway with white edge lights is off to the right.

A landing clearance names a runway

At an airport with an operating control tower, you need a clearance from ATC to land (14 CFR 91.129(i)). That clearance is for the runway named in it. Landing on a taxiway, or on the wrong runway, is what the FAA calls a wrong surface landing.

Whose PAPI is that?

A PAPI is normally installed on the left side of its runway. But whether it's on the left or the right, the red lights are always oriented closest to the runway. The PAPI in the video has its red lights on the right, which means it belongs to the runway on the right, 5R.

The AIM also reminds pilots that a PAPI gives vertical guidance only. Lateral guidance comes from the runway and its lights, and you shouldn't descend on the PAPI until you're visually aligned with the runway. And when a runway is served by a PAPI, you must stay at or above the glide path until a lower altitude is necessary for a safe landing (14 CFR 91.129(e)(3)).

Closed runways

A closed runway is marked with a yellow X at each end. A temporary closure may also get a raised, lighted yellow X. When a runway is permanently closed, its lighting circuits are disconnected.

It happens

In July 2017, Air Canada 759 lined up with taxiway C at San Francisco at night, with four airliners waiting on it, and went around at about 60 feet. The parallel runway, 28L, was closed with its lights off, and the crew took 28R for 28L. The NTSB report is worth a read.