Training and Proficiency What A CFI Wants You To Know

Remembering Right of Way and Steering Clear of a ‘Watsonville’

Clearing the area before you turn is one of the first lessons a pilot learns.

Tuesday, July 09, 2024 at 12:31 PM ET

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Image captured before an August 2022 midair collision at Watsonville Municipal Airport (KWVI) in California. [Credit: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

The article emphasizes proactive mid-air collision avoidance, exemplified by a pilot breaking off an approach when unable to visually acquire an inbound aircraft, prioritizing safety over maintaining the pattern.
It deconstructs the 2022 Watsonville mid-air collision where a faster, unconfigured Cessna twin on a straight-in approach failed to see and avoid a slower Cessna 152 in the traffic pattern, despite both communicating on CTAF.
Key takeaways for pilots include actively "seeing and avoiding," paying attention to aircraft types/speeds in radio calls, and prioritizing evasive action over the right-of-way rules to prevent collisions.

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I was flying the pattern of Pierce County Airport-Thun Field (KPLU) in Puyallup, Washington, with a private pilot in his Cessna 172 when, just as we reached the “abeam the intended point of touchdown” on the downwind leg, the pilot of a Cessna twin keyed up reporting on a 3-mile final.

I looked off the extended centerline hoping to see the landing light of the twin. No joy. The skies were hazy due to forest fire smoke, and the light was flat because it was late afternoon and, frankly, it was difficult to see anything.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.