Towered Field Ops

Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 12:09 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots must clarify or fully understand non-standard ATC instructions (e.g., "report a two-mile base," "overfly the field") to ensure safe operations.
Strict adherence to runway safety procedures is paramount, including correctly reading back "hold short" instructions, ensuring the entire aircraft is past the hold-short line when exiting, and timely communication with Ground control.
Pilots can waive wake turbulence separation requirements in specific situations (not behind heavy aircraft) but must exercise extreme caution and consider environmental factors.
Both pilots and controllers must actively guard against expectation bias, which can lead to complacency and critical errors, as demonstrated by runway incursions and other incidents.

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It’s Saturday morning at 0730. Weather is VFR and a million, and most of the flight schools and weekend warriors are calling up Ground with the ATIS, ready to go. Add student pilots, crosswinds, a runway closure and more. What are the chances of pilots missing something critical or letting expectation bias hit? That risk is not just for the pilots, it is also shared by controllers as well.

Non-Standard Instructions

Any pilot operating in a towered environment should know the basics on where things are. “Enter left downwind” or “Turn crosswind” or perhaps “Report a four-mile final, Runway 18.” Believe it or not, a lot of pilots reply sounding confused when told to go to a certain point.