My Greatest Fear in Flying

[jlisler]

Today was one of those days you wait for in flying. The skys were crystal clear (visibility was a good 30 miles) and there was not a bump in the air. I HAD to take my Cessna C140A for a cruise. After about an hour of enjoying the scenery, the sun was starting to get low so it was time to head back to the airport (17J). I announced that I was going to over-fly the runway from the west to the east at pattern alititude and that I would be entering left downwind for 18. All was progressing well in the smooth air and I announced turning final for runway 18. I was concentrating on the runway ahead and the greaser wheel landing I was about to make. I was down to about 300 feet AGL when I glanced out the left side window. I cannot describe the stark terror I felt as I saw a Kolb ultra-lite zip by 50 feet underneath me! I was heading 180 and he was heading 270, intersecting at a right angle. My gut reaction was full power and pull hard to get out of the way but honestly it was too late. The collision would have already happened before I even knew he was there if it were not for that skinny little 50 feet of altitude. I was really concerned that he might have went down short of the airport so I circled back around to have a look. I could not see him so I continued to orbit, gathering my wits, and scanning for him. I finally saw him about 1/4 mile north of the field making a low circuit for the grass on the right side of runway 18. This area is not consided to be a normal landing zone but it explains how he got where he was at when I was on short final for 18. With him in sight I made an uneventful approach to 18 although my nerves were shot. When confronted, the ultra-lite pilot said he did not see me. He even questioned me about whether I had my strobe light on or not.

I can honestly say I have felt this kind of terror very few times in the 51 years of my life. There was no panic, just fear. I went home and hugged the wife. I'm glad to be here.

Reflecting on today's event two things come to mind. The pattern flown by the ultra-lite was non-standard in that he was only a couple of hundred feet AGL and was cutting across the normal approach path to runway 18 at this altitude. Secondly and probably most important, he did not have a radio. Even though I flew the correct pattern and made all of the right calls, if no one is listening it does not matter.


So what's my greatest fear? You guessed it, a mid-air collision.

Jerry Isler
Cessna C140A N9641A
RV-4 N455J

[L.Adamson]

IMO, the old days of radio-less airplanes should be over. I live under an un-controlled airports pattern, and see no reason why someone shouldn't at least carry a very light weight hand-held with headphone attachments.

As you know, and I know, a handheld on board the ultra-light could have made a lot of difference.

L.Adamson

[mdredmond]

So what's my greatest fear? You guessed it, a mid-air collision.

Mine too.

Doug (Reeves) gave me my first RV ride in his plane. He must have thought I was neurotic because I spent the entire time looking for traffic.

I had a near-miss at DTO when I was working on my PPL in 1989. I was dual with my CFI and a Baron decided to cut inside us on the turn to final (he had been behind us I think, but flying a close-in pattern and wasn't on the radio). I was turning final and 'something' made me pick the left wing back up for another look. I could see the Baron pilot's face we were so close - maybe 100'. It scared the **** out of me and since then, my biggest fear is 'the other guy'. Everything else is under my control.

IMO, the old days of radio-less airplanes should be over. I live under an un-controlled airports pattern, and see no reason why someone shouldn't at least carry a very light weight hand-held with headphone attachments.

IMO, the days of transponder-less aircraft should be over, too. It's a small pond and I think you should have to pay to swim.

[osxuser]

Today I was flying in a flight of six, as number six in Glasair I RG with my buddy out of WHP. We were coming up by Santa Paula, and my lead, the #5 guy in a Comanche almost got broadsided by a aerobatic something... maybe a Zlin? I don't know it was something weird. I pushed hard to avoid him as he pass in front of my lead and then pull a hard bank around him like he was trying to come around on his six. I didn't get that close, maybe 500', but he was real close to the lead, less than 100' if i'm not mistaken. I've come really close in several instances, the big sky/little airplane theory doesn't hold water in Socal's airspace.

[szicree]

Originally Posted by L.Adamson

IMO, the old days of radio-less airplanes should be over. I live under an un-controlled airports pattern, and see no reason why someone shouldn't at least carry a very light weight hand-held with headphone attachments.

As you know, and I know, a handheld on board the ultra-light could have made a lot of difference.

L.Adamson

Gotta agree 100% here. When they wrote the rules were battery powered handhelds even available? Well they are now and they're cheap.

Glad it all worked out ok, but pretty scary and certainly unnecessary.

[DanH]

Clearly the Kolb pilot did not see you, which means he probably wasn't looking. Shame on him!

But, now a hard question. Jerry, were YOU looking?

So many pilots treat a CTAF call as a magic wand that clears the airspace, or worse, has them acting like they have placed a claim on the airspace. CTAF means exactly that, Common Traffic Advisory Frequency. You can use it to advise others who may or may not be listening, or care about what you said. Using it does not relieve a pilot of his primary responsibility, which is looking out the window.

Clearly your Kolb pilot was flying a non-standard pattern, or more likely no pattern at all; just doodling around the airport in an aimless manner. Again, shame on him.

But, another question: how exactly did YOU enter the pattern? You entered the airport area heading 090, overflew the runway, and headed north on downwind for 18. Did you overfly and make a decending left turn, or did you overfly outbound to the east of the airport, decend, and return on a 45 for the downwind?

If you overflew and simply turned left, you blocked your sight to the entire NE quadrant from which the Kolb was approaching. It was under your nose, and later below your right windowsill, and still later (when you were base)behind you. Not that it matters if you were looking left the whole time, at the runway.

If you simply turned left, you also took the chance that somebody you didn't see was on downwind and you were decending on top of them. They could have been under your nose in the latter part of your overflight, and remained under it as you turned left.

One last bit; consider the setting. 17J Is a little place. Airnav says you have 13 based aircraft, 9 GA and 4 ultralight. With only 13 owners on the field, can't you guys agree on some common proceedures?

Jerry, I apologize if it seems like I'm picking on you (I'm not), but it takes two to have a midair. Crying about nordo aircraft is pure self-delusion; it is not the problem. Maybe it would be more productive to slide a copy of AOPA's "Operations at Non-Towered Airports" under every hangar door.

http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/sa08.pdf

Dan Horton

[ww2planes]

A friend and I flew over to Auburn California for breakfast on Saturday. We departed Auburn and heard over the radio what was obviously a near miss at another airport. Everyone came out ok by the sound of it but what, IMHO, made it worse was the gal on the radio trying to investigate the thing over the radio. She was one of the pilots involved and was shooting touch and go's. She was literally interogating the other party over the CATF. She kept it up for about 10 minutes and finally got a clue after the other pilot quit talking to her in the first several seconds.

Can't say who was at fault but the radio is the wrong place to conduct an investigation. He did apologize and was using his radio up until he had to turn it off so as to avoid his attacker.

We weren't involved but it sure made us watch a little closer ont he way back home. Tahoe is beautiful from about 9500'.

[RV6_flyer]

Originally Posted by osxuser

Today I was flying in a flight of six, as number six in Glasair I RG with my buddy out of WHP. We were coming up by Santa Paula, and my lead, the #5 guy in a Comanche almost got broadsided by a aerobatic something... maybe a Zlin? I don't know it was something weird. I pushed hard to avoid him as he pass in front of my lead and then pull a hard bank around him like he was trying to come around on his six. I didn't get that close, maybe 500', but he was real close to the lead, less than 100' if i'm not mistaken. I've come really close in several instances, the big sky/little airplane theory doesn't hold water in Socal's airspace.

Sounds like the flight flew right through the Acrobatic Box that exists EAST of KSZP. Flight lead should know where his flight is and avoid that area. All the RV Flight Leads in SoCAL know to avoid the SZP acro box NOTAMed or not.

[N941WR]

Originally Posted by L.Adamson

IMO, the old days of radio-less airplanes should be over. I live under an un-controlled airports pattern, and see no reason why someone shouldn't at least carry a very light weight hand-held with headphone attachments.

As you know, and I know, a handheld on board the ultra-light could have made a lot of difference.

L.Adamson

I'm afraid I'm starting to sound like a broken record but...

In a perfect world, yes, everyone would have a radio and broadcast on the correct frequencey but we don't live in a perfect world.

The reason a number of light aircraft (Cubs, T-Crafts, etc.) don't have a radio is that they don't have shielded ignition systems so the radio wouldn't do them any good. To mandate they install a radio would ground a lot of these airplanes and other antiques where there is just no other ignition option available.

In addition, to upgrade a Continental A-65 engine with a shielded ignition system could cost upwards of 20% of the value of the aircraft (Assuming new mags, plugs, wires, etc.) and that would effectively ground them. Not an option I advocate.

The next thing people will mandate is mode C transponders in all these old airplanes so those "rich" guys flying with magic "fish finders" can have traffic pointed out to them rather than actually look out the window.

Just my $.02

[cobra]

This sort of illustrates my concern with the new Sport Pilot catagory and the light, underequipped aircraft that it will spawn...