Anyone know the standard arrival routes Mesaba normally flies into Detroit? According to AirNav, there are four: CETUS TWO, MIZAR THREE, POLAR ONE, and SPICA TWO. The reason I ask is because I live in Northville, MI (about 35 mins from KDTW) and I can see a distinct pattern everyday. In the afternoon, I see nothing but Mesaba Saab 340s with the occasional Avro. In the evening, the majority of those stop and I see the occasional Northwest A319. I’m just interested in the standard arrivals Mesaba uses, since I see them so often. Also, am I correct in thinking that the airline designates which arrivals their aircraft will fly? Or is it up to the controller?
Thanks!
~ Ryan
The four STARs in Detroit funnel arrivals from different directions into the Detroit area (the STAR can service many airports in a given area note that on teh POLAR approach, the aircraft is to expect vectors to destination after passing the SCUBI fix) Base on where Northville is, you are likely seeing arrivals from the northwest on the POLAR1 approach. You can pull the actual arrival charts up and see them HERE.
In the in most cases, the STAR selection is pretty obvious based on where the flight is comming from. Some procedures have rules based on aircraft type and so forth that will dictate entry points and altitude restrictions. While Airline policy and the controllers have a lot of input in the selection of routes, in the end, the crew of a given aircraft has final responsibility of the safe operation of the flight.
Thanks for clearing that up, jreeves!
