Communicate

by Dale Nielsen

Aviate, navigate, communicate. Sound familiar? It we don’t fly the plane, who will? If we don’t navigate, we may be embarrassed. If we don’t communicate, we may create a hazardous situation.

Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board are reporting an increased number of runway incursions over the past few years. Pilots are entering the active runway, and even taking off, without clearance from ATC, and entering the active when it is unsafe to do so at uncontrolled airports.

A student pilot at the Kitchener/Waterloo Regional Airport was instructed to taxi to position on Runway 25. The pilot taxied onto the runway and took off without a clearance. Fortunately, the airport maintenance vehicle with clearance to cross Runway 25 was given a new clearance by an alert controller to hold short of Runway 25 in time to avert a disaster.

Instructions to "hold short" of a runway or to taxi "to position" on a runway should read back. This gives controllers a positive indication that the instruction was understood and will be obeyed, so they can direct their attention elsewhere. If simultaneous runway operations are occurring, instructions to enter, cross, backtrack or line up on any runway should be acknowledged by a read back.

Clearance must be obtained to takeoff or land at a controlled airport. We must make sure the clearance we accept is for us. At a busy airport, it is easy for a pilot to mistake a clearance meant for someone else to be for him or her. Controllers also occasionally make mistakes and issue clearances to the wrong aircraft.

A Cessna 172 departed Runway 15 at Kelowna, B.C., on a VFR night flight. The control tower was closed and airport advisory services were being provided by Penticton FSS. One of the two snow removal vehicles working on the Kelowna Airport at the time reported to Penticton FSS that an aircraft had just departed Runway 15 and lifted off 500 ft in front of him. He was at the mid-point of the runway near the west edge with his headlights and rotating beacon on.

The C-172 pilot did not communicate, and she did not confirm the snow removal vehicle she saw was off the runway before starting her takeoff roll.

A C-172 departed Runway 15 at Castlegar, B.C., when a de Havilland Dash 8 was about to turn onto final approach for Runway 33. The Dash 8 pulled up and went around. The C-172 pilot said he did not hear any reports from the Dash 8, and the Dash 8 pilot reported making all of the appropriate advisory calls. They were reportedly on the same frequency.

The C-172 pilot was not monitoring the mandatory frequency (MF) to hear the Dash 8 transmissions. He either did not make a call giving his intentions to enter the runway, or to take off, or the Dash 8 crew was not listening. He also did not look around before departure to make sure the area was clear to depart.

The CARs and the AIP are clear about what calls must be made at uncontrolled airports. It is the pilots’ responsibility to make sure the runway, departure path, or arrival path are clear before taking off or landing. This means looking out. You never know when an aircraft may arrive without radios, or when someone unfamiliar with the airport is on the wrong frequency. The flight training organization operating the C-172 at Castlegar has since required all of its pilots to make a 360 degree turn on the ramp prior to entering the runway to check the airspace all around the airport.

Two aircraft arrived at 108 Mile House, B.C., at the same time. One pilot did a mid-field crossing and a right hand circuit, instead of the normal left hand circuit, and he was on the wrong frequency. The other pilot made a straight-in approach. The two aircraft collided on final approach.

We must make sure we are on the correct frequency, and we must follow correct procedures. Communication means nothing if no one can hear us. If we follow correct procedures, others will know where to look for us. Neither of the two pilots at 108 Mile House followed approved procedures for arrival at uncontrolled airports.

An instructor and student in a Cessna 152 transmitted their position and intentions on 122.75 on entering a flight training practice area near Edmonton, Alta. There was no response, indicating to them there were no other training aircraft in the practice area. Just as the student reduced power to enter a stall, the instructor noticed a Piper PA31 Navajo right in front of them. The instructor took control and entered a steep descending turn to avoid the Navajo.

The frequency 122.75 is not published, but is agreed upon by the local flight training organizations. The pilot of the Navajo was on a test flight and was not aware of the agreed upon frequency.

Flight training practice areas must be treated with caution. Practice area frequencies may not be published. If we intend to use a practice area, we should attempt to determine the appropriate frequency and use it. We must also maintain a good lookout. Flight training exercises take time, and students and instructors are busy. They may not see us.

Arrival and departure corridors to and from airports can also be very busy. We must make sure we are on the correct frequency, make the appropriate radio calls, and look out constantly when we use them.

Communications not only let others know our intentions so they can plan accordingly, they make us more visible. If others know where we are, they know where to look for us.

If we follow the communication procedures outlined in the CARs and the AIP and make sure we monitor the correct frequency at all times, we will make the airspace a little safer. If we all do it, we will make the airspace a lot safer.