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A captain flying the las KEPEC3 arrival near the clarr waypoint reported his vision distortion and first officer's temporary blindness after encountering the intense sunlight reflection at 13;000 ft.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1156120 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201403 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZLA.ARTCC |
| State Reference | CA |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Light Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Route In Use | STAR KEPEC3 |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 45 Flight Crew Total 5000 Flight Crew Type 2400 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness |
Narrative:
While on the KEPEC3 arrival into las we were temporary blinded by bright lights (reflections) from the ground. These reflections; coming from the new solar power station were so bright that any attempt to look outside the plane was met with pain and temporary blindness even when looking back inside. Any attempt to see and avoid was useless and trying to find the airport during this time was painful as well. Exposure lasted about 5 minutes. We notified ATC and were told that they get a lot of complaints about these reflections.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Captain flying the LAS KEPEC3 arrival near the CLARR waypoint reported his vision distortion and First Officer's temporary blindness after encountering the intense sunlight reflection at 13;000 FT.
Narrative: While on the KEPEC3 arrival into LAS we were temporary blinded by bright lights (reflections) from the ground. These reflections; coming from the new solar power station were so bright that any attempt to look outside the plane was met with pain and temporary blindness even when looking back inside. Any attempt to see and avoid was useless and trying to find the airport during this time was painful as well. Exposure lasted about 5 minutes. We notified ATC and were told that they get a lot of complaints about these reflections.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.