OPS topics

Flying Safety, July, 2002

Editor's Note: The following accounts are from actual mishaps. They have been screened to prevent the release of privileged information.

SEE AND AVOID!

We share the skies with our civilian counterparts, but don't you just hate it when you are minding your own business and the next thing you know a civilian aircraft crosses your path? Here are a few examples of what has happened, and how "See and Avoid" has prevented serious mishaps.

T-1 Low-Level

A T-1A was on a low-level flight and had just begun a gradual descent from 1500 to 500 feet. Halfway through a turn the Instructor Pilot (IP) saw a red, single-engine, high-wing Cessna-type aircraft pass underneath the aircraft. The IP estimated it passed 200-300 feet below them. The Cessna was not squawking and the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) did not provide any alerts.

So what happened? There are several small, uncontrolled civilian airfields within 15 nautical miles of the area the T-1A was operating, which is over sparsely populated oil fields. The civilian aircraft was also not in radio contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC), and due to the type of airspace it was in, was not required to be. In this case, the investigators could not find anyone to blame. Investigators believe that because the low-level route was fairly new, the civilian pilots in the area did not realize it was now in use. The Air Force was lucky the T-1A pilots were able to "See and Avoid."

Another T-1 Times Three!

This unfortunate crew had a really bad day and experienced three separate near misses on the same out-and-back mission. The first incident occurred as they were conducting an approach at the "out" location. As they were two miles outside of the initial approach fix they witnessed a civilian aircraft cross direct in front and approximately 300 feet above them. They did not get a TCAS alert, and Approach painted no traffic in the area. In this case the civilian aircraft was flying Visual Flight Rules (VFR), outside of Class C/D airspace and not squawking. Therefore, separation could not be guaranteed between the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) T-1 and the VFR civilian aircraft.

The second close call came when the aircraft was flying another approach, and while being vectored at 3000 feet. The crew had a TCAS resolution advisory for traffic within one mile and 50 feet below and climbing! The crew queried the controller, who observed the aircraft and informed them that the traffic was VFR, behind them, and was climbing to 2500 feet. The pilot reported that TCAS showed the aircraft climbing to 2800 feet, while the controller stated he showed 2600 feet for the VFR traffic. Unfortunately, the civilian pilot had overshot his assigned altitude. The controller then advised the T-1A pilot to climb to 3500 feet as another conflict was developing. The VFR traffic kept things interesting on this out-and-back, so far!

Now, on to the third and fortunately last incident. As this fateful crew climbed out from their final approach and checked in with Approach Control on the instructions they were previously given, they were cleared to 8000 feet and issued their IFR clearance. Unfortunately for this crew, the IFR clearance was to the wrong airfield. After the crew and ATC straightened things out, they were given clearance to a heading of 240 and a climb to 15,000 feet. Moments later the altitude was changed to 12,000 feet. As the crew passed 7000 on their way to 12,000, TCAS once again provided an advisory on traffic within 1000 feet and 1-2 miles. The crew acquired the aircraft visually and once again talked to Approach Control. Come to find out, the civilian aircraft was on an IFR flight plan and a 090 heading, climbing to 7000. When the T-1 turned to their new heading they lost the separation standards, and the aircraft passed within 900 feet and .89 miles of each other.

All said and done, this crew landed uneventfully back at home station to a lot of HATR paperwork. Luckily, they were still around to fill it out. Overall assessment? The area they had chosen for their out-and-back was a highly congested VFR traffic area, with a civilian flight school within ten miles of the field they had chosen. Make sure you keep your heads up and eyes open to avoid those visitors to your area, and really think about where your out-and-back can take you.

Almost A Heavy Hitter

A C-17 was coming in on final approach and approximately 20 miles from the field on radar vectors they saw a Cessna 172 taking evasive action to avoid them. They were given no warning by Approach Control, and Approach Control only had a primary target with no altitude. One note of interest is that ATC only gives advisories on primary targets, workload permitting. The bottom line, the airspace is Class E and no one really did anything wrong. Both pilots had their heads up and eyes open to avoid being a statistic, so "Good on ya." Bet that Cessna pilot had a large pucker factor as they evaded the C-17!

No Rules Broken Here Either