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 had been flying an aerial photo mission for approximately two hours, while in contact with TRACON the entire time.
During a southern line, TRACON issued a traffic alert for an aircraft at the same altitude, opposite heading, unknown type. I assume this traffic was not in contact with TRACON as I did not hear them given an alert.
Once I was able to visually locate the plane, I was forced to break off of my photo line and take immediate evasive action, as otherwise we would have had a mid-air collision.
I do not know why the other pilot thought it was a good idea to fly 500 feet above the ZZZ Bravo without communicating with anyone. I get that it’s legal, but it wasn’t very smart.
Primary Problem: Human Factors
ACN: 2051189
I think see and avoid should be the main takeaway. I’m sorry to see some of you that take an obviously antagonistic approach to pilots who don’t want or cannot afford the ADSB IN gear. If we all follow the rules of thumb, we should all stay reasonably safe.
It is apparent to me that a lot of you commenters are relatively new to aviation. You were brain-washed into the belief that you “have” to have radio, “have” to have ADSB to fly. Granted, there is areas where that is required, but did you consider the real reason for the ADSB ? It is not for you, but for governmental control. Why ? simple, they only require the “OUT”. so they can see you and where you are . The “IN” is not required, and a lot of aircraft have “OUT” without “IN”. You may have paid out the extra money for the non-required “IN” so you can see other traffic, but not all have done so. Newbies to aviation have been trained with all that radio stuff and generally believe that is the way it is and us old timer cowboys should automatically “hone up” to your standards because you are now in the sky. Well, us old timer cowboys have been flying for a long time, personally since 1960, and still like the freedom of the sky’s without all that controlling burden. So maybe you can come down to our level and look outside the cockpit once in awhile and enjoy the view.
This may have been before the FAA required ADS-B in 2020.
the report was dated 2023/ 11…so ADSB-out was required then.
Just a thought:
ASRS reports only tell one side of the story, whether it’s written by a pilot, air traffic controller, flight attendant, or “John Q. Public”.
This is another ASRS scenario that lacks enough detail to make an accurate assessment of exactly what happened and why.
I chuckle when comments are made in the “second person”, as if we expect the guilty party to constantly monitor GAN to see if their ‘story’ got picked for publication.
OTOH, all ASRS scenarios do present an opportunity to offer well-thought-out, reasoned, sound opinions and observations.
These could be beneficial, especially for new pilots, or folks considering becoming one…as opposed to flippant, off-the-cuff attempts at witticisms that don’t add any value.
But, as the GAN publisher points out, “….pilots like to talk…”
Respectfully,
Curran
ADS-B aficionados might remember…things malfunction sometimes, regardless of regulations.
See and Avoid.
Sounds like the photo pilot would like the Bravo to extend upwards to FL180. It appears all worked as designed…ATC saw traffic and provided an alert.
What if the photo line hadn’t been near a Bravo. Does photo pilot expect everyone to be under positive control?
Excellent points. See and avoid!
What kind of evasive action did you take? Hard right descending turn?
What kind of evasive action did you take? Hard right descendin turn?
We can only assume you were operating above the Class B airspace for the aerial work. If both of you had ADSB-in then each of you should have seen the other well in advance of a conflict. If not, then the controller should have given you a traffic advisory early enough to avoid the other aircraft. If you could not visually find the traffic you could have requested vectors to avoid. On the other hand, if ATC saw a pending conflict they would have received a warning such that ATC should have vectored you to avoid the traffic. It is not uncommon for aircraft to over fly Class B without talking to ATC. You need to be on your toes at all times operating in or near Class B airspace. Class B airspace is set up based on the density of traffic, in, out and around a specific airport. It sounds like your evasive action was more dramatic than it needed to be.
In order to fly over class B and C airspace, aircraft must have operating ADSB-out, so both aircraft should have been alerted to a potential conflict and taken action to de-conflict..!
Agreed, Jim. Recently I was flying within the mode C veil (under class B) and encountered an aircraft in close proximity that was not broadcasting ADS-B. Unfortunately, these regulations are not enforceable which is a reminder for us to not fall into over-reliance on our flat screens to detect traffic.
What will it take to make it enforceable? Land vehicle laws are enforceable. Cops issue tickets regularly. The main problem is the recreational GA community has maverick cowboys who view the airways as the Wild, Wild West of yesteryear. What will it take to bring the new sheriff in town? A horrific crash involving a VIP rock star, US Senator, or someone more important than the rest of we poor slobs. Then the public clamor will bring out the teeth and get an enforcement mechanism that is long, long overdue. Want to be a cowboy? Get yourself a horse, a lasso rope, and a piece of land with a few cattle. And a 10-gallon hat and chaps. But get the H out of the skies. Regards/J
Of course these rules are enforceable, but difficult to enforce for sure. I live near an airport I call the “Wild West” because they have a few pilots that seem to do whatever they want. The vast majority of the pilots there are good pilots, but enough mavericks to make the place a mess. Some are NORDO planes, some have radios but seem to never use the radio to talk.
Sadly, if they do decide to really enforce the rules, I suspect it will be an “over the top” solution that harms all of GA.
sounds like you fly out of KFFC
If an aircraft is not broadcasting it’s registration number on ADSB-out, the only way to find who it is , is to follow the aircraft to where it lands, and then look to see the registration number, before it’s hidden in a hangar.
Also, the aircraft may not have a valid registration number displayed…no one checks.!
Some experimental aircraft have the ‘N’ number is very small size, vs certified aircraft with 12 inch numbers.!
So, an aircraft can be easily be flown by a non-pilot, with no registration and no insurance, and avoid any consequences.