IFR/VFR Separation

Regulations prevent collisions through right-of-way rules. These codified decencies apply to the road, sea and air. For aviation, 14 CFR 91.113 warns that regardless of whether an operation is conducted under instrument flight rules or visual flight rules, vigilance shall be maintained by each person operating an aircraft so as to see and avoid other aircraft. Sage advice, that, especially with our butts in the hot seat.

jmiller

Tuesday, May 02, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The traditional "see and avoid" principle is inherently limited by human factors, operational distractions, and environmental conditions, making pilots vulnerable to mid-air collisions despite their diligence.
Current air traffic control (ATC) separation methods, particularly pilot-applied visual separation, are flawed, contributing to collisions due to controller expectation bias, aircraft misidentification, and significant performance differences between aircraft.
Increasing precision from GPS and VFR pilots operating closer to airspace boundaries contribute to growing risks of near mid-air collisions between IFR and VFR aircraft, especially in congested or complex airspace.
A systemic overhaul is needed to prevent mid-air collisions, including rewriting rules for visual separation, leveraging advanced technology for traffic awareness, and minimizing time in less-positively controlled airspace.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Leaving a busy Class B, I checked-in with Departure leveling 4000 feet and received, “climb and maintain 8000. VFR traffic, a helicopter, twelve o-clock at 5500, has you in sight.” I thought, “Whiskey, tango, foxtrot: hello midair.”

Regulations prevent collisions through right-of-way rules. These codified decencies apply to the road, sea and air. For aviation, 14 CFR 91.113 warns that “regardless of whether an operation is conducted under instrument flight rules or visual flight rules, vigilance shall be maintained by each person operating an aircraft so as to see and avoid other aircraft.” Sage advice, that, especially with our butts in the hot seat.