A B737 check airman witnessed several go arounds because of unstabilized approaches on the las 1R vi...

Narrative:

We were vectored off the sunst arrival to an east downwind for (initially) rwy 1R. ATC changed our runway just prior to our base turn and called out our traffic to follow. The pilots called the field and traffic in sight. ATC stated we should maintain 170 to a 5 NM final. Being high and with a 3.4 degree glideslope; the pilots could not get the aircraft slowed down and it resulted in a go-around since we were not stabilized. Good decision by the captain. I had personally flown the same approach twice the day prior and had to configure very early to be stabilized at 1000 ft. My safety issue is that I believe ATC is forcing us to push the field with the 170 knot/5 NM final. This is especially true considering the fact that rwy 1L has a 3.4 degree glideslope. It is hard to get the -700 to slow down even when you are on glideslope. If you are high at all; which happens on all the arrivals to rwy 1L (kepec or sunst); it is very difficult to meet our stabilized approach criteria. I would recommend speaking with las approach and asking them to push the 170 knot/5 NM callout to 170 knot/7 NM final as a minimum. I also say this because I have seen more go-arounds on line checks for arrivals into rwy 1L/right in las than any other runway in the system.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737 Check Airman witnessed several go arounds because of unstabilized approaches on the LAS 1R visual and suggested that LAS TRACON move the visual approach crossing restriction to 170 kts at 7 nm. The B737-700 does not descend well.

Narrative: We were vectored off the SUNST Arrival to an east downwind for (initially) Rwy 1R. ATC changed our runway just prior to our base turn and called out our traffic to follow. The Pilots called the field and traffic in sight. ATC stated we should maintain 170 to a 5 NM final. Being high and with a 3.4 degree glideslope; the Pilots could not get the aircraft slowed down and it resulted in a go-around since we were not stabilized. Good decision by the Captain. I had personally flown the same approach twice the day prior and had to configure very early to be stabilized at 1000 ft. My safety issue is that I believe ATC is forcing us to push the field with the 170 knot/5 NM final. This is especially true considering the fact that Rwy 1L has a 3.4 degree glideslope. It is hard to get the -700 to slow down even when you are on glideslope. If you are high at all; which happens on all the arrivals to Rwy 1L (KEPEC or SUNST); it is very difficult to meet our stabilized approach criteria. I would recommend speaking with LAS Approach and asking them to push the 170 knot/5 NM callout to 170 knot/7 NM final as a minimum. I also say this because I have seen more go-arounds on line checks for arrivals into Rwy 1L/R in LAS than any other runway in the system.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	852812
Time
Date	200909
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	LAS.Airport
State Reference	NV
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Route In Use	Visual Approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Check Pilot
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Type 12000
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Altitude Crossing Restriction Not Met Deviation - Procedural Clearance Inflight Event / Encounter Unstabilized Approach

A B737 check airman witnessed several go arounds because of unstabilized approaches on the las 1R visual and suggested that las TRACON move the visual approach crossing restriction to 170 kts at 7 nm. The B737-700 does not descend well.