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.
There are two VFR arrival points being used at Tulsa Riverside Airport (KRVS) in Oklahoma called “Turnpike Split” and “Cross Creek Warehouse.” Neither of these arrival points are charted and neither are readily located by any normal level of flight planning before being directed to one of them by ATC.
The only place I have found written reference to them is buried three pages deep on the airport association website.
The Turnpike Split is located approximately 7 miles west southwest of KRVS and the Cross Creek Warehouse is located approximately 8 miles southeast of KRVS.
The potential safety issue is that there are charted VFR checkpoints, SAPULPA and BIXBY, located within one mile of each of them that pilots unfamiliar with this local procedure are likely to use as their initial ATC reporting point. This has the potential to place multiple aircraft landing at KRVS within close proximity to each other at similar altitudes.
For example, an aircraft approaching KRVS from the west southwest might contact Tulsa Approach over SAPULPA while Approach is directing another aircraft to the Turnpike Split at the same time. If the aircraft over SAPULPA flies directly to KRVS they will also directly overfly the Turnpike Split within 30 seconds. That isn’t much time for ATC to identify the conflict, relay the conflict to the aircraft, and direct one or both aircraft to take evasive action.
Since both SAPULPA and the Turnpike Split are not within Class C or D airspace, it is possible that a transient pilot could be overflying SAPULPA while a local pilot who is familiar with the procedure is simultaneously flying to the Turnpike Split and neither pilot is talking to ATC and receiving separation services.
Compounding the issue is the level of traffic at KRVS. At times when it is extremely busy it is difficult to communicate effectively with ATC and pilots unfamiliar with the local procedure must request vectors to the arrival points since they are not charted. This creates unnecessary congestion on the radio.
It seems like a better solution would be to simply use the checkpoints that have been in place for decades and can be seen on the chart instead of making up arrival points that are in nearly the same place and are not readily identified to transient pilots.
Primary Problem: Chart Or Publication
ACN: 1846879
