Officials at the Recreational Aviation Foundation are joining other general aviation advocacy groups on high alert at the number of backcountry accidents so far in the summer of 2024 — 13 in Idaho — including a fatality and near disaster at Smiley Creek.
RAF officials note that they — along with other GA safety experts — are feeling a “full court press is necessary to hopefully get pilots’ attention.”
“Many don’t need to be taught, but rather need to be reminded,” says RAF Chairman John McKenna.
Officials ask general aviation pilots to familiarize themselves with some practices that should better prepare them for their flights into the backcountry, including one from the airlines known as “Threat and Error Management” — a “look forward” technique to brief not only the details of an approach and landing, but also a prediction of what could go wrong.
Here are some other tips from RAF officials:
What would I do if the pattern is full when I arrive?
Overfly the pattern at 1,000 feet above pattern altitude to assess the situation. Get traffic in sight and only join the pattern when it’s safe.
Pick an abort point and stick to it. Overfly the field and choose an abort point that you are 100% confident would safely get you out of a bad approach. Once you choose it, use it.
“Don’t try to save a bad approach by applying all your superior airmanship skills,” officials advise. “Just do it — go around.
One fly-in, one portable
If you are organizing a fly-in, choose a capable pilot on the ground and have that person provide advisories to incoming aircraft.
This isn’t an air traffic controller or air boss, but a person who can offer information about winds, runway conditions, and safety information, such as, “winds are favoring Runway 15 and there are a lot of airplanes in the pattern.”
Pull up your 10 mile out checklist
Ten miles out from the airstrip, run through a checklist of things you should do:
- Are you on the CTAF for the airfield?
- Have you made your position call for the airfield?
- Are your lights on?
- Have you briefed passengers that you are getting ready to land?
- Have you briefed for a sterile cockpit?
- Eyes outside and no distractions.
- Run your “threat and error” sequences — what if I’m too high, what if there are deer on the runway, what if someone is inbound on the wrong frequency, what if someone takes off, towards me while I’m on approach…?
On the ground and tied down by noon
Anyone who has flown the backcountry knows the conditions in the afternoon can be dangerous — unpredictable gusty winds, thermals, downdrafts, thunderstorms, high temperatures, anemic performance due to density altitude, and unfortunately lower visibility in many places due to smoke.
Enjoy the afternoon beneath the shade of your wing or nearby tree rather than in the air wishing you were on the ground.
More tips
Do you have some tips you learned from your own experiences flying in the backcountry? If so, please share them below in the comments.
For more information: TheRAF.org
The Alaskan way of landing airplanes in the backcountry is far superior to the contemporary way. Learn to use Alaska’s Precision Landings and you will have much safer ways to land your airplane!
Backcountry flying, like mountain flying, is a specialized activity with its own particular risks and areas of expertise. It generally involves flying close to stall speed to achieve the short landing runs required. It often involves operating areas surrounded by very tall trees, requiring steep approaches and departures. It often involves unprepared runway surfaces that are not level and that may have hidden holes or other obstacles (e.g., logs, longer-than-expected grass, bushes hiding coiled wire, rocks, etc., etc.). Go-around may be impossible (beyond a certain point) due to trees and/or rising terrain ahead. Winds can create rolling turbulence between the trees. There may be no wind indicators. The landing areas are often at high density altitudes. And, for single-aircraft operations, any mishap can result in being stranded in a remote place, on foot and possibly injured.
Honestly, I’m surprised we haven’t seen a lot more fatalities as backcountry flying has gained in popularity. It is a tribute to the care and attention and preparation of backcountry pilots. To keep it this way, it will be important to ensure that newcomers to this type of flying are properly prepared, also.
One more tip would be to listen to the RAF podcast. They share a lot of information there