This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
This airport tends to be very busy with flight training, corporate traffic, and people coming for lunch at the on-field cafe. It was very busy when I got there.
I chose to go around from final because of the crowd and so did Aircraft Y on final in front of me. We got into the pattern again, and I lost sight of him. I turned base where the published airport procedure indicates and there was Aircraft Y, very close in front of me. He had gone way out downwind and turned a long, long final. I didn’t hear him announce final, so I don’t know if he did or not.
This was a close call. The pilot never saw me. I went around again to avoid any conflict and landed safely.
I have noticed that (for reasons that baffle me), pilots are making extremely wide downwind legs and very long finals. This is for all types of planes at small airports.
The procedure used to be you turned base at 45° to the numbers. That way you were always in the vicinity of the airport, the pattern was efficient, and you knew where to look for other aircraft.
I believe this non-standard procedure (rapidly becoming standard) contributes to congested patterns and the increased likelihood of not seeing other planes.
I think this is what happened to me and the other pilot. Both of us didn’t look hard enough on base and final to see if the way was clear. I called my base leg before the Aircraft Y appeared in my windshield, so it would have helped if he announced where he was when he heard me call. Maybe he thought I was behind him?
My takeaway is to look, look, and look again for aircraft that have turned for excessively long finals and also for planes doing wide (and I mean really wide) downwind legs. What you do about unwise training these days, I don’t know.
I’ll also avoid this airport at lunch hour, since it tends to have increased traffic at that time. When I left, things had settled down a bit.
Primary Problem: Human Factors
ACN: 1803491
In my 45+ years of flying I’ve found that more people talk than listen on the radio. I call in the turn for every leg. You present a larger profile and are easier to see. Also people will have a general idea of where to look for you. I keep my calls short: ‘airport traffic, Skyhawk turning left downwind 21, airport traffic’.
Communicate communicate communicate. Announcing your position and asking someone else’s position when you can’t see them.
Yes, yes, yes!
If you report closed traffic at an airport, should you announce and tie up the frequency for announcing crosswind, turning downwind. I would announce turning base and final. The whole process is about 6 minutes.
I also stay close to the runway in case off an engine failure.
Most entries are to the downwind on the 45, so the first place a conflict normally occurs is with traffic on the crosswind and on the 45 entry leg eventually merging. So I think those are two critical calls – entering downwind runway xx on the 45, crosswind runway xx entering downwind.
Entering downwind is a recommended call in Chapter 4 of the AIM.
You’re absolutely right Jim+Macklin
Some may be coming from enroute straight into final or into a wide base and burning off speed and altitude. Just have to announce and monitor, particularly at untowered.
I guess we are going to have to announce things two or three times and ask if anyone is out there who is not talking or announcing their positions and look look look because I know my instructor has taught me to not fly traffic patterns as if I were in a 747. Just in case you lose power you will be close to the airport.
Having lost sight of traffic being followed, pilot’s should not turn base.
If you’re following and loose sight it your responsibility saw so and not assume you’re clear.
At a busy airport radio calls ?ight be stepped on or simply not heard.
Even tower controlled airport have the same issue, perhaps worse, because pilot’s assume ATC actually controls. ATC tried to coordinate traffic. ” Contrlloers” don’t die in midair collisions the cause.
Agree. The other pilot may have extended because of the busy conditions and having to do a go-around him/herself. The turn to base first depends on the pilot’s ability to safely follow the aircraft ahead, not on reaching the 45 degree point.
100% agree–If I go around and follow another aircraft that is going around and follow that aircraft in the pattern, lose sight of the aircraft, and just HOPE it’s not in my way? Nope, gotta see the aircraft, know where it’s at, can’t assume it’s not a conflict, that’ll kill a guy. Or gal.