Guy,

The 727 is a very maneuverable aircraft. I have no idea why they seem to be having so much trouble with the approach. Since the valley is very long in both directions a smooth decent in VFR could be made without setting off the GPWS.

Yes, the runway is a bit short at just under 6,000 feet, but even at that elevation it should not be that hard to land a 727-100.

I just flew an approach an both directions starting from 15,000 and did not set off the GPWS. In order to keep the turn radius small the speed must be kept slow.

Lou

http://imgur.com/a/xpDJ3