A Flock of Geese Triggers Another Hazard

When hazy conditions combine with clouds of snow geese, a pilot learns the value of over communicating and ADS-B.

Michael Van Wallis

Thursday, January 06, 2022 at 12:30 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A pilot on a return flight after a formation flyover encountered two large flocks of snow geese, requiring evasive maneuvers in hazy conditions.
Distracted by the second flock of geese, the pilot experienced a near head-on mid-air collision with another aircraft, despite previous radio contact and assumptions about its flight path.
The incident highlighted critical aviation lessons: constant vigilance near migratory flyways, extreme caution in haze, avoiding assumptions about other pilots' understanding, and the paramount importance of effective communication.

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Most pilots don’t need an excuse to go fly on a calm, sunny Saturday morning, but on this particular day, I had a good one. The plan was for my Cessna 172 to be part of a four-airplane formation, launching from St. Louis Downtown Airport (KCPS) at about 10 a.m. to fly over a parade in St. Louis, Illinois. The event was a peace march organized by the widow of David Dorn, a retired Black St. Louis police captain killed by looters on June 2, 2020,while he was protecting a friend’s pawn shop during the unrest following the death of George Floyd.

My VFR flight started an hour earlier from Smartt Field (KSET) near St. Charles, Missouri, which is just a short 20-minute hop from the west. After landing at KCPS and meeting the other three pilots, we took off in quick succession, with permission and coordination from the tower. Shortly after takeoff, the local controller handed us over to St. Louis Tracon, which then coordinated the flyover above the parade route.