“After 32 years of operating at ZZZ airport I think my run has come to an end. Once again, I find people using the wrong runway, flying the wrong pattern, and just doing whatever they want with no regard for other traffic. Standard procedures and basic safety practices seem to have no place here anymore. Management will not intervene on behalf of flight safety. My personal minimums have been exceeded too many times. The risk now outweighs the convenience. This is a sad, sad day.”
This is the text of a social media post I made three years ago. I meant it at the time. I mean it now. As much as I’ve loved my career in general aviation, my will to live exceeds my affection for any one airport, hangar, or FBO. If safety standards can’t — or won’t — be upheld, I’m out.
I would hope we all have a similar limit switch that would flip if things got out of hand. I assume that is the case based on the more than 500 comments left on this post. Many, if not most, expressed similar concerns about operations at their home field or a field they used to frequent but no longer do.
The quest to operate in a safe environment should matter far more than our ego-driven desire to do what we want, when we want, wherever we want.
There are roughly 500 towered airports in the United States. Having a pair of eyes on the sky and a radio to communicate with allows these fields to run safely and efficiently even when traffic is prolific and highly diverse. Communication and the willingness to take instruction makes all the difference.
Non-towered airports are far more plentiful. Thousands upon thousands of non-towered fields dot the landscape. The safety record of each is entirely dependent on the judgment, skill, and grace of the pilots who operate there.
That should be a fairly low bar. A goal that’s easy to achieve. After all, the FAA has given each of those pilots mandatory training requirements, a plethora of reading material, and a constant stream of in-person and online meetings all designed to enhance safety in the air and on the ground.
Yet, evidence strongly suggests that’s not enough. The arrogance and ignorance of individual pilots are primary drivers of this degradation of safety. Complacency and distraction are contributors as well.
That leaves the cure with you and me. We are our own best advocates.
From the majority of the pilot population this message falls into the category of preaching to the choir. We’re all in the same boat, after all. Your safety and mine are inescapably connected through the use of common airspace and airports. If we all follow the rules and recommendations, everything moves along nicely. Just as it does at towered airports.
However, if even a small minority of us decide to go off the reservation and use Runway 9 when three other aircraft are already established in the pattern for Runway 36 — well, we’ve got a problem. The same goes for the wildly independent pilot who enters a right-hand-pattern for a runway with an established left-hand-pattern. They may find this method more convenient, but it creates a real problem for those who are flying the correct pattern and now have a legitimate safety concern that shouldn’t exist.
Those of the arrogant class will argue, as they have for years, that a Pilot in Command has the authority to do whatever they deem appropriate at any time in flight. In theory this is correct. When that pilot calls that they’re initiating their takeoff roll on Runway 18 when there is already an airplane rolling on Runway 36, that theory starts to fall apart.
“Nobody can tell a PIC what to do at a non-towered airport,” is the common refrain from those who treasure their anti-authority stance. Many people believe this, too. Even though it is clearly untrue.
Let’s consider a couple examples.
Example 1: You’re sitting in the FBO sipping a cup of coffee when you notice a group of three people climbing into an airplane on the ramp. On the horizontal stabilizer of that airplane is a floppy object. Maybe a cockpit cover. Maybe a coat. Whatever the case, you know it’s going to become a problem if that airplane gets airborne with an obstruction on the tail. You run outside quickly and wave down the errant pilot. After explaining yourself briefly, the pilot removes the obstruction. Everyone goes about their day.
One potential accident prevented. Yay you.
Example 2: You’re a line service worker driving a golf cart along the runways and taxiways in search of a damaged light reported by a transient pilot. As you motor along, you notice a Bonanza on short final with its gear still tucked up tight. You grab the handheld radio in your vehicle and make a call on the CTAF, “Bonanza go-around. Your gear is still up.”
You have no authority to make that call and you know it. The Bonanza pilot being PIC has every right to ignore you and continue to a loud landing with a very short roll-out. But they don’t. They accept the insight of an observer, climb back into the pattern, and take their GUMPs check more seriously the second time around.
Despite the protestations of the arrogant, the ignorant, and those macho pilots who consider being anti-authority and suffering the delusions of invulnerability to be a strength, anyone can talk to anyone. And they should. On the ramp. In the FBO. Even in the air when the situation calls for it.
There is an expression in the wider world that has caught on and serves a real purpose: “If you see something, say something.” There is no earthly reason pilots, line service workers, mechanics, airport management, or anyone else should be under the impression that a verbal expression of concern for safety isn’t valid simply because you are on an airport or speaking to a pilot.
Let’s all step back, recognize our place in the big safety matrix of the sky, and start to behave ourselves. The likely outcome can only be a lower accident rate, declining insurance premiums, and fewer grieving families.
That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?
It annoys me that pilots want to fly as much and long as possible until it’s time to enter the pattern. Then, so many seem to want to land asap and fight to be first. Enjoy the flight, look, listen, talk, land maybe do an extra 360 to avoid rush hour. It’s better for everyone.
Seems, collectively speaking, the local warriors crave orderly pattern flying but can’t master the art themselves in their traveling machines, that ironically are going nowhere.
Come on, everyone knows old Bob only does Navy style overhead breaks, right. (Not the USAF overhead break style at all, everyone knows that right).
And old Joe never put a radio in his plane, don’t need one!
Then Frank has never done anything but a 25 mile straight in because he has a fast plane.
Of course Jimbo thinks the AIM is all wrong and flies what he calls a safe entry to the pattern that no one seems to know what it is.
Don’t leave Billy the CFII out doing a Practice approach to the opposite flow of the runway but called 25 miles out to let everyone know what he was doing and has been to busy to call in since.
I have seen all of this, and let me be clear. Nobody knows what the hell you are doing unless you try to follow what is in the AIM and TALK to people on the radio. Brush off the old AIM or buy a new one or look for free on the internet. Then TRY to do what it says. It is not that hard!
Preach!
Overhead breaks. The bane of my existence at my uncontrolled field…oops…Non Towered Airport.
The 40 hr student coming in from his Solo Cross Country, the CFII conducting instrument training or, worse yet, the student doing his initial solo touch and goes likely has no idea what a ‘break’ is.
You want to operate in the pattern as you did in your ‘glory days’? Buy a grass strip and ‘break’ to your hearts content.
Speaking of examples: I can usually handle the chaos at a non-towered airport with intersecting runways, like a 18-36 / 9-27 combo.
But a parallel runway configuration, using the “Traffic patterns depicted in the AIM” …like the one used to illustrate this article …at a non-towered airport?
I’d prefer to land on Interstate 90, in downtown Seattle …at rush hour.
Re one of your examples…maybe the three pilots using 36 ought to check the windsock when someone else announces that they’re going to use 9. It just might be that the wind is (now) out of the east & the “oddball” wants to land into the wind, like our flight instructors taught us. Can’t recall just which publication it’s in, but FAA says to choose the runway “most closely aligned with the wind”. Why fight a crosswind if you don’t have to, esp if you’re flying a tailwheel airplane?
It is surprising to me that so many in a group of folks called pilots – doing one of the most difficult yet rewarding hobbies of all – can be such arrogant jerks. A few bad apples spoil the bunch, but I have met too many guys who have too much money and too much aeroplane who display such a bad attitude that I just want to walk away in disgust.
For reference: N129RB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGGWt8cB1J8
An anatomical impossibility.
In the second example, I would only call “Bonanza, gear up”. It really is the PICs call on if they go around. Yes, it’s stupid to continue landing, but PICs call.
When does a guy on the ramp, trying to help, start making ATC commands?
I operate from two different non-towered airports. One has a large commercial helicopter operator based there, the other has a large parachute operator based there.
I will respectfully tender the observation that, while the helicopters and the paradrop pilots are all “commercial” pilots, and their aircraft are all burning expensive kerosene, the best, most effective tool I’ve seen to date in affecting safety outcomes is communication.
I’ve had a helicopter sitting on the runway after doing an auto-rotation landing. Just sitting there. Nobody talking on the radio. I’m on final and they’re not moving. Sometimes all it takes is a gentle wakeup call. “Helicopter sitting on runway 28, state your intentions – traffic on short final.” Sometimes it takes a sit-down conversation with the owner of the helicopter company so he knows his high-intensity training operations are cutting corners, using non-standard procedures and generally acting like they own the place.
The same goes for the parachute operator at the other airport. Anything from a short “Confirm you have jumpers away, how long until they will all be on the ground?” radio call to a conversation with the company owner, away from other ears. All of these means of communication have been used and all have brought about improvements in operational safety and reduction of risk.
The best example I can think of is the helicopter operator which operates a PC24 jet in support of their rotary wing fleet. One of their jet pilots clearly remembers his days of flying bugsmashers. It’s really quite something when you know he’s inbound on a long (10 mile) RNAV straight-in approach in clear VFR weather and he asks you to give a position report in the pattern so he can time his arrival to not conflict with your touch-and-go. In return I’ve happily done a quick orbit in order to give him spacing.
At the end of the day it’s about give-and-take. Clear communications allow us to understand what the other party needs and allows us to modify our behavior to maximize operational tempo while improving safety. Be courteous on the radio. Be precise in your position reports and statements of intended actions. Ask for clarification. And never be afraid to say, “Thank you – have a nice flight!”
While perspectives vary a lot on what is good and bad, the rules thankfully do allow for flexibility. On one training flight we flew 20 miles so we could complete our lesson objective of crosswind takeoffs and landings. Just as we were getting started in that pattern, a local training flight started closed traffic on the other runway aligned with the wind. The local instructor didn’t complain. Realizing right away that we had a valid reason to be on the other runway, he emphasized for both of us to maintain good communication and safe separation which we did. We were there about an hour and it was an excellent lesson.
Too many pilots think the rules don’t apply to them…a dangerous attitude.
I think this diminution of civility and general “me first” attitude is prevalent in society overall, not just Non Towered Airports.
Sometimes explaining the perils of non standard ops works, and sometimes it leads to arguments or worse.
Since Covid, FAA folks are harder to get in touch with, and some FSDOs are apparently still “working remotely” even after five years since Covid and its Soviet style lockdowns left us.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. We have safety meetings at our little field, hot dogs, hamburgers, etc…make an event out of it. Unfortunately, those that fly as if they are in the sky alone are the ones that don’t attend the meetings.
Part of the problem is the FAA. They have very few regulations at Non-Towered Airports.
FAA seems to not being visual at airports any longer? They only show up when there is an accident? Few ramp checks or airport surveillance …..by FAA personnel….?
You can contact FAA and give them the N-NUMBER of an aircraft that cause problems at your airport. Unfortunately few pilots do this….?
Thanks for this article and unfortunately most accidents and incidents happen at Non-Towered Airports, including mid-air collision’s!
I’m pretty sure the FAA has told us everything we need in order to operate safely anywhere. I don’t think we need more regulation. We need more adherence to the regulation we have.