Towered Field Ops

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

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots must clarify non-standard ATC instructions (e.g., "two-mile base," "overfly field") and understand common unofficial phraseology to ensure safe operations.
Strict adherence to runway safety procedures, including accurate "hold short" readbacks and ensuring the entire aircraft is past the hold-short line before contacting Ground, is critical.
Pilots can waive wake turbulence separation for certain non-heavy aircraft departures under specific conditions, but must exercise extreme caution and assess their ability to avoid wake.
Expectation bias and personal pressures are significant safety risks that pilots must recognize and mitigate by maintaining situational awareness and assessing their readiness to fly.

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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.