When landing behind a large aircraft, which procedure should be followed for vortex avoidance?

• A. Stay above its final approach flightpath all the way to touchdown
• B. Stay below its final approach flightpath
• C. Fly directly behind at the same altitude
• D. Land immediately to avoid wake

Answer: (A)

Wake turbulence from a large aircraft forms powerful vortices that trail behind and tend to sink to lower altitudes. To avoid entering that wake during landing, you should remain above its final approach flightpath all the way to touchdown. Staying above keeps you out of the sinking vortices, whereas staying below or directly behind at the same altitude puts you in the wake, and landing immediately offers no guaranteed separation. So the safest approach is to stay above the preceding aircraft’s final approach path until you’re well clear.