Playing Defense At Non-Towered Airports

Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at 10:09 AM ET

Verified

Between the FARs, the AIM, a newly revised Advisory Circular and various other guidance, the diagram below represents the basic traffic pattern at a non-towered airport. Variations can include parallel and/or intersecting runways. This diagram depicts a standard pattern, in which all turns are to the left.

Key Takeaways:

Pilots face significant risks from wildlife strikes, particularly deer, at non-towered airports during low-light conditions, making a pre-landing low pass to check the runway a crucial safety measure.
Complacency often leads pilots to disregard standard traffic pattern procedures at uncontrolled airports, creating unpredictable and unsafe conditions despite clear FAA recommendations.
Adhering to recommended traffic pattern procedures (as outlined in the AIM and AC 90-66C) and practicing "Defensive Flying 101" is vital for safety, including using full patterns to assess the airport environment and being prepared for go-arounds.

See a mistake? Contact us.

So I’m flying along one day, fat, dumb and happy in the pattern at the Winchester (Va.) Regional Airport, KOKV. When I lived in the area not too long ago, Winchester was our preferred local practice field when Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO), my airplane’s home base, got too sporty.

There were many other area airports a pilot could go to, like Martinsburg (Eastern WV Regional Airport/Shepherd Field, or KMRB). Martinsburg was cool because sometimes a C-17 would be flying (a very wide traffic pattern) or doing some kind of cockeyed low-level combat approach. The main drawback of mixing it up with the C-17s at KMRB was the wake turbulence: It could fling you like Dorothy and Toto to the Land of Oz.