Where Midairs Occur

Albany Tom said:
I've only had 2 really close calls that I'm aware of. Both as a passenger.

One of those was over an airport at pattern height, overflying the field at 90 degrees. We were going north to south, ready to enter the pattern, and I believe on the CTAF. The other aircraft was just flying along south to north, same altitude, and passed by us about 200 feet away. Saw them as they went by.
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That describes two planes doing a midfield cross to downwind for opposite runways — the very argument I make for not allowing midfield crossovers.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Do you have a link to that FAA data?
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Page 8-6 of the AFH.

Mid-air collisions generally occur during daylight hours—56 percent occur in the afternoon, 32 percent
occur in the morning, and 2 percent occur at night, dusk, or dawn.

⦁ Most mid-air collisions occur under good visibility.

⦁ A mid-air collision is most likely to occur between two aircraft going in the same direction.

⦁ The majority of pilots involved in mid-air collisions are not on a flight plan.

⦁ Nearly all accidents occur at or near uncontrolled airports and at altitudes below 1,000 feet.

⦁ Pilots of all experience levels can be involved in mid-air collisions.
 
Clip4 said:
Page 8-6 of the AFH.

Mid-air collisions generally occur during daylight hours—56 percent occur in the afternoon, 32 percent
occur in the morning, and 2 percent occur at night, dusk, or dawn.

⦁ Most mid-air collisions occur under good visibility.

⦁ A mid-air collision is most likely to occur between two aircraft going in the same direction.

⦁ The majority of pilots involved in mid-air collisions are not on a flight plan.

⦁ Nearly all accidents occur at or near uncontrolled airports and at altitudes below 1,000 feet.

⦁ Pilots of all experience levels can be involved in mid-air collisions.
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So no data.
 
sarangan said:
Looks like base leg is the best place to be.
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I would agree. Final is always going to be the worst around an airport because all aircraft are aiming for the same point both vertically and laterally and therefore more likely to come together. Downwind tends to be more separated as pilots fly at different altitudes, distances from the runway, both laterally and where the turn to base commences, so there is some level of separation for aircraft with different performance. Where everything comes together is on final. I have always thought that when flying a circling approach into a non towered airport would be safer if the circle used the opposite direction for turns because downwind and base would not mix with traffic and when on base, you have a clearer view of final or opposite direction VFR base traffic. You can't see what is behind you. Unfortunately, FAR 91.126 doesn't allow for this.
 
Clip4 said:
So you believe the FAA makes stuff up and when they make a statement they have no data?
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No, but they have been known to cherry-pick data for their purposes.

But the real issue I have is whether or not the data is current and/or relevant. “Trust us, we’re the FAA,” doesn’t work for me, particularly after you mentioned data that contradicts data that Ron provided.
 
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Common frequency enroute can be pretty hard to make useful up here on Canada.

When you are on 126.7 people can be hundreds of miles away or close by. When someone say I am over some town or landmark and you aren’t familiar with the area it’s almost pointless.

Similar issue down south?
 
wanttaja said:
I suspect part of the problem is focusing on the final bits of the landing during final. We all want the landing to go well, and the head may well come off the swivel as the plane nears the end of Final.

Then, too, you've got those who think that transmitting that they're on final means they *own* the runway, and everyone else should stay clear.....

Ron Wanttaja
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A friend died in a mid-air as she was wing up right cross to downwind. So guessing that was put into downwind. T-boned by a plane coming in on 45. At the time, word was the inbound was not talking to tower. I never read the final report to confirm.

Sent from my SM-S901U1 using Tapatalk
 
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