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 flying to Marana Regional Airport (KAVQ) in Arizona to leave my plane for its annual inspection.
There were several planes in the pattern at KAVQ and around the airport — it was busy. I entered a downwind on the 45. Two planes were ahead of me. I was following Aircraft Z. Aircraft A was behind me and another plane behind him, all entering the pattern on the downwind.
Aircraft Z turned final and announced #2 for landing. I was watching him and announced #3 for landing. Aircraft A announced #4. I had to extend downwind for spacing, as did Aircraft A. The plane behind him had to break off because continued downwind extensions would take him into Pinal Airpark (KMZJ) airspace.
As I turned final, a plane practicing a straight-in IFR approach announced that I had cut in under her and she was going around.
Review of Internet data showed that she was about 500 feet above me.
I had been focused on maintaining visual contact with Aircraft Z ahead of me so as to land as close behind him as I safely could, making room for planes behind me.
He exited the runway shortly before I touched down. My landing was uneventful, and the IFR plane entered the pattern from the upwind for a touch-and-go before returning to ZZZ1.
I heard the IFR plane announce an approach, but had lost awareness of where she was.
I’ve heard that combining straight in and pattern work at uncontrolled airports is dangerous, but now have first-hand experience to verify.
Primary Problem: Human Factors
ACN: 2140713
When you click on the link it will take you to the ASRS Online Database. Click on Start Search, then Report Number and put the ACN in the search box, then click Search. On that page, click on “view only the 1 most recent report.”
I’m seeing more and more the the practicality of having a copilot in the aircraft, especially around busy airports. Double caution when flying solo, all the time, no matter what the congestion of the airspace, or the weather conditions. And no matter with copilot or no. If one pilot can make a mistake, both can.
All straight in IFR practice at I ncontrolled airfields should end at short final.
IFR practice to landing should be under a tower’s direction. Landing fees will encourage IFR practice at uncontrolled fields and cause incidents.
Coincidentally, see today’s news story re: midair collision at this airport.
RE: the IFR-practice aircraft — and where was Approach Control in this whole mess; or was the IFR-practice aircraft on a DIY practice approach, sans Safety Pilot and Hood?
(( If it is busy closed traffic, go somewhere else and leave the closed traffic alone ))
Practicing instrument approaches, into a busy pattern at an uncontrolled airfield, is a bad idea. It reality, it’s practicing “near misses”. The pilot flying the approach is likely looking at the instruments, not outside for traffic. Meaning the instrument pilot is hoping the other traffic will see and avoid them. Their safety pilot “should be” looking for traffic, but we all know that’s not a perfect solution, they’re not flying the plane.
The pilots in the pattern could easily be student or new pilots, who may never have seen an instrument approach plate. Radio calls like “FAF Inbound”, RNAV 13 inbound could be totally meaningless to those pilots. They may have no idea where to look for the instrument approach traffic, or even realize it’s heading toward final at their airfield. The instrument pilot’s radio calls should be more like “2 mile final inbound” to insure low-time pilots know where to look.
In reality, the instrument pilot, likely being the more experienced, should assume the pattern is full of student pilots, and insure they are not disrupting students. Those students may be mentally saturated just flying the pattern. The instrument pilot should break off their instrument approach at least a mile from the runway threshold. I know, that defeats the purpose of the practice approach. But what’s the safer option, breaking off the approach, or risking a mid-air collision.
Put yourself in the other pilots head, and remember being mentally saturated on your first solo flights in the pattern. Us high-time pilots have a moral responsibility to help make it safe for the newbies.
The flaw in this analysis is the IFR practice trying to stay on a profile and monitoring the alternating activity on the pattern aircraft, as a straight in VFR aircraft would be. Of course heightened awareness is called for when numerous aircraft are in the pattern which usually leads to some mayhem and deviations, as noted, in itself. Or so my 48 years of flying has observed.
A practice instrument approach into a busy pattern without coordination with other pilots to see if it were possible. And a pilot turning to base without verifying the position of the straight-in. They were lucky.