alfadog
Final Approach
I wrote up the below for an incident yesterday. I sent it to someone that might help this pilot get some refresher training. I believe the pilot/owner to be 71 years old. All information based on freely accessible web data starting with the N-number.
My friend recently passed his Private Pilot exam and got his license; prior to that he held a Sport Pilot's license. I have had my license for many years. To celebrate his accomplishment we decided to share the rental of a Cessna 172 for a trip from Tamiami to Marathon and back. My friend flew down and I flew back. Upon arriving my friend planned on doing a few touch-and-go landings before we landed and switched pilots. As we neared the airport we monitored CTAF and noted that traffic was using Runway 25. The wind was from 190 so 25 was the preferred runway.
The airport was fairly busy with aircraft taking off and landing and at least one other airplane in the pattern doing touch-and-goes. They were all using Runway 25.
As we merged into the pattern we heard another aircraft announce that they were on, I believe, a nine-mile right base for Runway 7. This was about 11:30 AM. It was a woman's voice. The pilot asked that any traffic in the area please advise (ATITAPA). This airplane turned out to be <redacted>.
Three things wrong there.
1. The least error is the use of ATITAPA. According to the FAA, 'Pilots stating, “Traffic in the area, please advise” is not a recognized Self-Announce Position and/or Intention phrase and should not be used under any condition.' It is backwards. Arriving aircraft are expected to look and listen and determine traffic for themselves. Aircraft operating out of non-towered fields are not even required to have radios and I routinely fly an airplane that does not have one.
2. The wind clearly favored Runway 25 and an incoming pilot should have expected traffic to be using that runway, not the opposite direction Runway 7. If there was any doubt, the pilot should have contacted the Unicom on the field and asked for the preferred runway. It is not against the rules to land downwind; it is against the rules to disrupt the flow of traffic to do so.
3. Both Runway 7 and Runway 25 are left traffic and it is a violation of FAA regulations to make any turns other than left turns when approaching to land. Were this pilot really on a right base as she called out three times, that would be a violation. It turned out that she was in error there also and was actually on a left base.
To continue, the other pilot in the pattern informed <redacted> that traffic was using Runway 25 and my friend announced his position and intention to use 25. There was no response.
A bit later <redacted> came on again and announced perhaps a five-mile right base for Runway 7. My friend and the other aircraft responded as before and, again, no reply. The other aircraft, perhaps out of concern for any impending conflict, left the pattern. Since we had two pilots in our airplane to keep an eye out, we continued with the hope that <redacted> with get a clue as to what was going on at her intended destination.
The last call from <redacted> was, I believe, a three-mile right base for 7. Again, we announced our intention to use 25. No reply. As we were on our base leg for 25, we noticed an incoming airplane, not on a right base for 7, but on what would be a left base for 7. We did not know if this was the subject aircraft and so we turned final for Runway 25. We then saw the other aircraft turn final for Runway 7. When it was clear that this aircraft intended to land despite an airplane set up to land from the opposite direction, we executed a go-around. We attempted to raise the other airplane on the radio but there was no reply. The aircraft landed and taxied to hangars on the NE side of the field. As we went around and then came in again to land, I read the N-number <redacted>.
OK, to be perfectly honest, this is how mid-air collisions happen. Non-towered airports are the source of most mid-air collisions. Luckily my friend and I were on the ball and monitoring the situation throughout and there was never any real risk. The pilot of <redacted> was clueless. Were we both clueless then there could have been an incident. And people do not generally survive mid-air collisions.
At least I hope that the pilot of <redacted> was clueless. That pilot made a number of errors, any one of which could be a problem. I hope they were errors and not a case of a pilot that was going to land Runway 7 because that is most convenient to the hangar and to heck with anyone else using the airport. I hope it was not that.
My friend recently passed his Private Pilot exam and got his license; prior to that he held a Sport Pilot's license. I have had my license for many years. To celebrate his accomplishment we decided to share the rental of a Cessna 172 for a trip from Tamiami to Marathon and back. My friend flew down and I flew back. Upon arriving my friend planned on doing a few touch-and-go landings before we landed and switched pilots. As we neared the airport we monitored CTAF and noted that traffic was using Runway 25. The wind was from 190 so 25 was the preferred runway.
The airport was fairly busy with aircraft taking off and landing and at least one other airplane in the pattern doing touch-and-goes. They were all using Runway 25.
As we merged into the pattern we heard another aircraft announce that they were on, I believe, a nine-mile right base for Runway 7. This was about 11:30 AM. It was a woman's voice. The pilot asked that any traffic in the area please advise (ATITAPA). This airplane turned out to be <redacted>.
Three things wrong there.
1. The least error is the use of ATITAPA. According to the FAA, 'Pilots stating, “Traffic in the area, please advise” is not a recognized Self-Announce Position and/or Intention phrase and should not be used under any condition.' It is backwards. Arriving aircraft are expected to look and listen and determine traffic for themselves. Aircraft operating out of non-towered fields are not even required to have radios and I routinely fly an airplane that does not have one.
2. The wind clearly favored Runway 25 and an incoming pilot should have expected traffic to be using that runway, not the opposite direction Runway 7. If there was any doubt, the pilot should have contacted the Unicom on the field and asked for the preferred runway. It is not against the rules to land downwind; it is against the rules to disrupt the flow of traffic to do so.
3. Both Runway 7 and Runway 25 are left traffic and it is a violation of FAA regulations to make any turns other than left turns when approaching to land. Were this pilot really on a right base as she called out three times, that would be a violation. It turned out that she was in error there also and was actually on a left base.
To continue, the other pilot in the pattern informed <redacted> that traffic was using Runway 25 and my friend announced his position and intention to use 25. There was no response.
A bit later <redacted> came on again and announced perhaps a five-mile right base for Runway 7. My friend and the other aircraft responded as before and, again, no reply. The other aircraft, perhaps out of concern for any impending conflict, left the pattern. Since we had two pilots in our airplane to keep an eye out, we continued with the hope that <redacted> with get a clue as to what was going on at her intended destination.
The last call from <redacted> was, I believe, a three-mile right base for 7. Again, we announced our intention to use 25. No reply. As we were on our base leg for 25, we noticed an incoming airplane, not on a right base for 7, but on what would be a left base for 7. We did not know if this was the subject aircraft and so we turned final for Runway 25. We then saw the other aircraft turn final for Runway 7. When it was clear that this aircraft intended to land despite an airplane set up to land from the opposite direction, we executed a go-around. We attempted to raise the other airplane on the radio but there was no reply. The aircraft landed and taxied to hangars on the NE side of the field. As we went around and then came in again to land, I read the N-number <redacted>.
OK, to be perfectly honest, this is how mid-air collisions happen. Non-towered airports are the source of most mid-air collisions. Luckily my friend and I were on the ball and monitoring the situation throughout and there was never any real risk. The pilot of <redacted> was clueless. Were we both clueless then there could have been an incident. And people do not generally survive mid-air collisions.
At least I hope that the pilot of <redacted> was clueless. That pilot made a number of errors, any one of which could be a problem. I hope they were errors and not a case of a pilot that was going to land Runway 7 because that is most convenient to the hangar and to heck with anyone else using the airport. I hope it was not that.
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