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.
I was pilot and sole occupant of a Cessna 182C at ZZZ. The runway in use was XX with a left traffic pattern and there were multiple training aircraft in the traffic pattern, including several Diamond DA-42 Twin Stars and several Cessna 172 Skyhawks from multiple large, collegiate flight schools located at nearby ZZZ1.
As I held short of Runway XX a DA42 announced a non-standard right base for XX. Several other aircraft in the pattern commented on the non-standard pattern.
After the DA42 made a touch and go landing I entered Runway XX for closed traffic. As the DA42 ahead made a left crosswind turn, I began the takeoff roll. At 700 feet AGL I announced and made a left crosswind turn.
Approximately 1/2 mile south of Runway XX and at 1,000 feet AGL I announced and made my turn to the downwind leg. I had several aircraft in sight ahead on the downwind.
One aircraft was very wide (I would estimate more than a mile from the runway and several hundred feet above the standard traffic pattern.) Another aircraft reported several miles east inbound on an instrument approach.
As I approached what would have been my base turn, I saw another aircraft on a base leg about a half mile ahead and another on final approach an estimated two miles east. I announced that I had two prior aircraft in sight and would extend my downwind leg and be number three for landing. As I came abeam of the second landing aircraft, I announced and made my left base turn and began descending.
While on the left base leg I heard another aircraft announce left base. I looked all around and was not able to see another aircraft. I announced and made my turn to final for Runway XX. At that point another aircraft reprimanded me over the CTAF for “cutting me off.”
I did not see a conflicting aircraft until a DA42 overtook me from above and announced/executed a go-around.
There was some unprofessional “back and forth” on the CTAF where, in the heat of the moment, we expressed our differing opinions of who was at fault.
I landed without further incident. I still do not know where the other aircraft was prior to my turn to final. I suspect it was at my 4 or 5 o’clock position on the base leg. I thought I had made observations on the base leg, but as I had extended the downwind leg for traffic. I had assumed other traffic would be to my left. Clearly I was wrong.
As a regular user of ZZZ I notice a high volume of training traffic from several local large flight schools. I understand that it is convenient field, with cheap fuel and is just over 50 nm from ZZZ1, making it a good cross-country target.
It is, however, also a pilot-controlled field where a radio is not required and is charted and NOTAMed for intense parachute operations. I think safety would be enhanced if big flight schools limited their operations at such fields accordingly.
Primary Problem: Human Factors
ACN: 1995092
If you’re at an airport in Class E Airspace, with one airplane on a left base and one airplane on a right base…for the same runway…one of you is in violation of 14 CFR Part 91.127. Should be pretty easy to figure out. “Nonstandard” has nothing to do with it; it’s just illegal. Period.
It should also be pretty easy to identify and locate a flight school that is operating a large fleet of DA-42 TwinStars. A call to that school’s Chief of Flight Operations, or Chief Flight Instructor, and/or the local servicing FAA FSDO, will quickly attract the attention that ‘practice’ deserves.
A few questions and points:
Was this report filed to avoid a certificate action?
Since the runway is XX and there was at least one aircraft (unknown type) on an instrument approach from the East, could this runway have been 27 or similar so that he cut off the aircraft on the instrument approach? But we will never know because the airport is ZZZ which unfortunately is found all over the USofA. And different of the ZZZ airports have published TPAs (yes, plural) so that twins and other fast traffic fly above the “normal” TPA.
So does this airport also have a published second TPA for the twins and fast movers (e.g. Mooneys, turbo-props, etc.) ? Not stated in the filed report.
Is this airport fed by Center or approach control for IFR traffic? One can’t expect the instrument approach person is always on CTAF freq if they have to also talk with Center/Approach… Hard to monitor CTAF while talking with ATC….
Given that this is a high use airport,one must have eyeballs outside looking for jumpers, looking way out the final approach course for someone on an instrument approach or fast mover in the pattern (flying high and wide) is needed. One can’t expect the instrument approach person is always on freq if they have to also talk with Center/Approach…
What happens if someone has an emergency and is landing opposite direction, trailing smoke or some such?
So expectation bias has to be changed for expecting the unanticipated aircraft rather than assuming one can announce following x plane to final.
Just my 2 cents.
While many non-towered airport operators routinely establish local procedures (including different TPAs) for rotorcraft, gliders, ultralights, lighter-than-air, and parachute ops, I have never encountered an airport that had a different published TPA for light twin-engine airplanes.
The FAA directs that “turbine and heavy aircraft should enter the traffic pattern at 1,500’ AGL or 500’ above the established pattern altitude”.
A 4,400-pound DA-42 is neither.
And THAT is why I gave up flying from my airport in FL. After the third NMAC with hoards of flight school airplanes overwhelming the pattern flown by yahoos with an epaulet on their shirt being trained by low time 23 year old CFI’s, I’m now in the hinterlands away from those people who fly light airplanes as if they’re 747’s.
I moved my aircraft from a busy non-towered airport where that was a lot of ‘non-standard’ pattern traffic.
I’m now at a quieter non-towered airport, and it’s closer to home.!
Most of the traffic is USAF AeroClub aircraft, who strictly follow standard traffic pattern ops.