Landing on an unusually wide runway can lead to which illusion?

Prepare for the CPAER Canada Commercial Pilot Test with flashcards and multiple choice questions. Each question comes with helpful hints and detailed explanations. Ace your exam confidently!

Landing on an unusually wide runway can indeed create the aerial perspective illusion, where a pilot may perceive themselves to be at a higher altitude than they actually are. This illusion occurs because the wide expanse of the runway can distort the pilot’s depth perception and make it difficult to accurately gauge vertical positioning. When flying over a wide surface, the lack of visual references typically associated with narrower runways can lead to uncertainty regarding the aircraft’s altitude during the approach.

The other options present different kinds of illusions that do not specifically relate to the context of landing on a wide runway. For instance, the black hole illusion primarily occurs when landing at night or in poor visibility conditions without visual cues to reference distance. The false horizon can mislead pilots when they mistake terrain features for a horizontal reference, and the perception of being lower than actual altitude could arise from various factors but is not specifically linked to the sensation prompted by a wide runway. Thus, the aerial perspective illusion is the most relevant to the scenario presented in the question.

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