The FAA is warning pilots who fly near Mount Rainier National Park in Washington of potential “hazardous operations.”
According to a notice from the FAA Safety Team, pilots flying near the south side of the park, specifically those flying low along the Nisqually River between Ashford and Longmire, need to be aware of Kautz Creek Helibase (7WA7), which supports National Park Service aviation operations for Mount Rainier National Park.
According to FAA officials, the site is routinely used for search and rescue missions, short-haul operations, external load, and emergency response activities. In frequent use throughout the year, it is critical to aviation operations in the park, agency officials noted.
“Park personnel have observed multiple recurring low level overflights by aircraft transiting the area, including several incidents in which low-level aircraft have passed through or in dangerously close proximity to active helicopter operations, creating potential hazards and suspended operations,” the notice said.
“While the park continues to implement several mitigation measures, this notice hopes to bring attention to the possible hazard in this area,” it continued. “Kautz Creek Helibase is not visually charted on the sectional chart, and may not show on apps like ForeFlight without manually searching for the identifier 7WA7.”
The pad is located along the high north bank of the Nisqually River, between Ashford (7 nm west) and Longmire (2 nm northeast), at an altitude of 2,312 feet MSL.
“Please use caution when operating in this area, watch for helicopter operations, and be sure to maintain your minimum safe altitudes,” the notice concludes.
This is not some new boogeyman issue and has been a problem for heliports in general. HEMS operators have complained about the lack of charting and emphasis for years. Hey FAA…if you want to reduce hazards and enhance low-level deconfliction, chart these helipads. Especially those that have point-in-space instrument approaches attached to them.
Assuming the National Park is the one complaining, anyone flying their aircraft within national park boundaries should be aware that during an emergency involving the need for the helipads that are at Kautz creek /Nisqually river . No Volcano waking up. Climbing accidents and ice falls in Mt Rainier sometimes activate the National Guard to rescue people off that Mountain.
I have flown around Mt. Rainier for 46 years. Prior to this article, I didn’t know this place existed. I still don’t know exactly where it is so I can avoid it. It’s not on the chart. Maybe it’s local pilots who should be complaining, not the Park Service. They created a hazard and then hid it from the rest of us.
I’ve seen many articles and videos indicating that many pilots like to fly between 2,500′ and 5,000′ altitude, even on long trips.
Ever since I started flying in the 1970s, I’ve always thought that’s nuts!
My normal cruise altitude has always been 11,500′ or 12,500′ depending on which way I’m going and how high the mountains are. And if I want to go higher than that, I’ll take oxygen. And yes, since I’m instrument rated, my single-engine Comanche has been up to 20,000′, with oxygen, of course. But I couldn’t take a 172 up more than about 13,500′ even with oxygen.
It’s very much the right thing to do”report” safety issues associated with any form of human activity. Well done on that point. Airports and heliports no exception!
Having said that your journalism “headline” will scare the beejesus out of almost anyone else not familiar with the heliport issue and most will come away from your headline thinking Mt Rainier is about to blow-erupt and that’s a VERY DANGEROUS Possibility with our mountains. Remember St Helens not far away. Rainier is still an active volcano!
Please stop using scare tactic journalism to get peoples attention. Leave that to the NYT’s please. There’s 50 ways to write this necessary topic without misleading your readership, especially in the headline-intro!
Don
Sounds like they need to put the airport on the chart and maybe issue a NOTAM when they have something important going on.
Otherwise, this is just sounds like NIMBY complaining and really doesn’t provide pilots with any real information in any sort of official way through normal briefing channels.
I second the question about being charted. I searched the identifier, and it appears just inside the park, so someone might have reasoned “it’s park airspace so it doesn’t need identified”. But it’s also on the edge of the park, so it would be nice (safer) to know it’s there.
If this helo base is a hazard, why not just put it on the charts so we are all aware of it?
Mark it with a helo icon, a skull & crossbones, or whatever.
So….why is it not on the charts?