Tue Dec 30, 2008 1:41 pm
#694216
During a recent visit to an unfamiliar airfield I had a close encounter with a local student who flew a tighter circuit, caught up and nearly landed on top of me, missing by about 6 feet. Here's what happened (a cut down version of my report to the airprox board).
On contacting the a/g service I was told the circuit was active with 1 in. The other aircraft (X) called final for touch and go as I approached. I subsequently joined downwind.
In view of the instruction given in the airfield's AIP entry to "avoid overflying adjacent built up areas", I kept clear of the village which would have been on my base leg by routing my circuit outside it. Whilst I was on base leg I saw a helicopter almost stationary above the village, slightly higher than I was. Next I called "final [runway]" and approached at 65 KIAS. I heard X call "downwind".
When I was approximately 1 nm from the threshold, the a/g operator called "[my callsign], [a/g callsign]". I was not immediately sure how to respond to such a call, and due to workload on final approach was unable to formulate a reply. Shortly after, I think X called "base leg", which I believed to be behind me.
When I was at approximately 1/2 nm, 300' agl, I heard X call "final". About 5 seconds later, it came into view as it passed me from behind, centred approximately 3' to my left and 6' above.
Around that time, a/g said something about traffic reported on final - I don't remember the exact message. A few seconds after passing me, now approx 10m in front and slightly below, X replied to indicate she did not have visual contact with the traffic.
I called to say I was now visual with the aircraft. It was now significantly below me, and close to the threshold. I called "going around" and moved to my right in order to do so, maintaining visual contact. Now at the threshold, X said "advice please". A/g replied "land".
After a subsequent uneventful landing, I visited the tower to pay my fee and discuss the events.
The a/g controller stated that my circuit was far too big, and that when I called final, she had been unable to see me as I was so far out, and I should have called "long final". I knew this was wrong as I was less than 4 miles away.
I commented that perhaps the fact the other aircraft was low wing, whilst mine was high wing had contributed to us not seeing each other. However, she stated that the other aircraft was lower than me. At the moment of passing, this was definitely not the case.
After leaving the tower, I found a noticeboard showing diagrams of the local circuit pattern, together with copies to take away. It shows the circuit passing to the inside the village, with the turn to final 0.8 nm from the threshold. I had turned final approximately 1.8 nm from the threshold.
I spoke to an instructor from the club who informed me that X was a student doing solo consolidation circuits, who believed my call of "final" came from the helicopter above the village.
I believe the main cause of this event was that I was unaware of the local procedure and flew a larger circuit than expected. Consequently my position report of "final" was misinterpreted by both X and a/g. In the absence of other information, flying outside the village and turning final near the boundary of the ATZ seemed the most appropriate thing to do. I was not aware that this was incompatible with local procedures, despite having made every effort to plan my visit to the airfield and obtain all available information.
This airprox would have been avoided if maps of any noise abatement circuits were routinely available from the AIP. None of the airfields I have visited have had such maps in their AIP entries and the only ones I have seen have come from unofficial sources published on the initiative of the airfield.
It seems to me there are lessons to learn from this incident by all parties. I expect the airprox report in a few months which I hope will include safety recommendations. Meanwhile, here are some of my personal thoughts:
Pilots[list:4ef20bedea]
Always lookout before turning, especially onto final.
Don't rely on the radio instead of eyes.
Don't make assumptions about which aircraft is which.
If standard RT can't express your message, use plain English rather than getting tongue tied.
Make additional position reports if the situation warrants.[/list:u:4ef20bedea]
A/G operators[list:4ef20bedea]
Don't just look where you expect to find an aircraft.
Say "report your position" if that's what you want.
Don't pass non-standard messages to pilots on final approach (see CAP 413).[/list:u:4ef20bedea]
Instructors[list:4ef20bedea]Don't send students solo too soon.[/list:u:4ef20bedea]
Authorities[list:4ef20bedea]Publish maps of all noise abatement circuits in the AIP.
Define the horizontal dimensions of the "standard" circuit.[/list:u:4ef20bedea]
On contacting the a/g service I was told the circuit was active with 1 in. The other aircraft (X) called final for touch and go as I approached. I subsequently joined downwind.
In view of the instruction given in the airfield's AIP entry to "avoid overflying adjacent built up areas", I kept clear of the village which would have been on my base leg by routing my circuit outside it. Whilst I was on base leg I saw a helicopter almost stationary above the village, slightly higher than I was. Next I called "final [runway]" and approached at 65 KIAS. I heard X call "downwind".
When I was approximately 1 nm from the threshold, the a/g operator called "[my callsign], [a/g callsign]". I was not immediately sure how to respond to such a call, and due to workload on final approach was unable to formulate a reply. Shortly after, I think X called "base leg", which I believed to be behind me.
When I was at approximately 1/2 nm, 300' agl, I heard X call "final". About 5 seconds later, it came into view as it passed me from behind, centred approximately 3' to my left and 6' above.
Around that time, a/g said something about traffic reported on final - I don't remember the exact message. A few seconds after passing me, now approx 10m in front and slightly below, X replied to indicate she did not have visual contact with the traffic.
I called to say I was now visual with the aircraft. It was now significantly below me, and close to the threshold. I called "going around" and moved to my right in order to do so, maintaining visual contact. Now at the threshold, X said "advice please". A/g replied "land".
After a subsequent uneventful landing, I visited the tower to pay my fee and discuss the events.
The a/g controller stated that my circuit was far too big, and that when I called final, she had been unable to see me as I was so far out, and I should have called "long final". I knew this was wrong as I was less than 4 miles away.
I commented that perhaps the fact the other aircraft was low wing, whilst mine was high wing had contributed to us not seeing each other. However, she stated that the other aircraft was lower than me. At the moment of passing, this was definitely not the case.
After leaving the tower, I found a noticeboard showing diagrams of the local circuit pattern, together with copies to take away. It shows the circuit passing to the inside the village, with the turn to final 0.8 nm from the threshold. I had turned final approximately 1.8 nm from the threshold.
I spoke to an instructor from the club who informed me that X was a student doing solo consolidation circuits, who believed my call of "final" came from the helicopter above the village.
I believe the main cause of this event was that I was unaware of the local procedure and flew a larger circuit than expected. Consequently my position report of "final" was misinterpreted by both X and a/g. In the absence of other information, flying outside the village and turning final near the boundary of the ATZ seemed the most appropriate thing to do. I was not aware that this was incompatible with local procedures, despite having made every effort to plan my visit to the airfield and obtain all available information.
This airprox would have been avoided if maps of any noise abatement circuits were routinely available from the AIP. None of the airfields I have visited have had such maps in their AIP entries and the only ones I have seen have come from unofficial sources published on the initiative of the airfield.
It seems to me there are lessons to learn from this incident by all parties. I expect the airprox report in a few months which I hope will include safety recommendations. Meanwhile, here are some of my personal thoughts:
Pilots[list:4ef20bedea]
Always lookout before turning, especially onto final.
Don't rely on the radio instead of eyes.
Don't make assumptions about which aircraft is which.
If standard RT can't express your message, use plain English rather than getting tongue tied.
Make additional position reports if the situation warrants.[/list:u:4ef20bedea]
A/G operators[list:4ef20bedea]
Don't just look where you expect to find an aircraft.
Say "report your position" if that's what you want.
Don't pass non-standard messages to pilots on final approach (see CAP 413).[/list:u:4ef20bedea]
Instructors[list:4ef20bedea]Don't send students solo too soon.[/list:u:4ef20bedea]
Authorities[list:4ef20bedea]Publish maps of all noise abatement circuits in the AIP.
Define the horizontal dimensions of the "standard" circuit.[/list:u:4ef20bedea]