The NTSB Safety Alert References Visual Traffic Maintaining Separation From Other Aircraft

The NTSB Safety Alert references accident examples involving midair collisions. In these examples, they point out that these accidents occurred in visual conditions and the pilots should have seen each other. This is certainly not a new topic, but it is one that needs to be reviewed, in part, because more advanced cockpits seem to demand more attention.

In the Safety alert, the NTSB says accidents have occurred in which pilots operating near one another did not maintain adequate visual lookout and failed to see and avoid the other aircraft. While some accidents occurred in high-traffic areas (near airports), some also occurred in cruise flight, and the pilots were flying in daytime visual meteorological conditions.

All pilots can be vulnerable to distractions in the cockpit, and the presence of technology has introduced challenges to the see-and-avoid concept. Aviation applications on portable electronic devices (PEDs) such as cell phones, tablets, and handheld GPS units, while useful, can lead to more head-down time, limiting a pilot’s ability to see other aircraft.

Here’s a list of actions the NTSB recommends:

• Be vigilant and use proper techniques to methodically scan for traffic throughout your flight, not only in high-volume traffic areas.
• Divide your attention inside and outside the aircraft and minimize distractions (including nonessential conversations, photography or sightseeing activities, and PED use). Here’s a hint, learning how to use your PED while flying is a bad idea unless you’re working with a safety pilot.
• Make your aircraft as visible as possible to other aircraft by turning on available lights, including anticollision lights, and consider using high-intensity discharge or LED lighting.
• Clearly communicate your intentions and use standard phraseology, known distances, and obvious ground references to alert other pilots of your location.
• Recognize that some conditions make it harder to see other aircraft, such as operating in areas where aircraft could be masked by surrounding terrain or buildings and when sun glare is present.
• Encourage passengers to help look for traffic and, during instructional flights, ensure that one pilot is always responsible for scanning for traffic.
• Effectively use on-board traffic advisory systems, when available, to help visually acquire and avoid other aircraft and not as a substitute for an outside visual scan.

While the NTSB recommendations are primarily aimed at avoiding in-flight collisions, it’s also important to remember that full attention is needed in movement areas on the ground. Only a few days ago we had another report of two airliners swapping paint.

As we taxi out for takeoff or secure after landing, it’s sometimes tempting to deal with aircraft systems and avionics in the name of efficiency. Being efficient is good, but being in motion without devoting full attention outside the cockpit is eventually going to lead to trouble. Whether it’s caused by operating aircraft systems, or trying to take air traffic control clearances on the fly, it’s important to…Look out!

FMI: www.ntsb.gov