After Fatal Collision, NTSB Wants FAA to Push for More Use of Common Traffic Advisory Frequencies

Safety board’s preliminary report on 2020 midair collision in Alaska suggests CTAF would have helped avoid it.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, March 09, 2022 at 06:59 PM ET

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The area in Alaska where the collision occurred. [Courtesy: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends the FAA urge pilots to increase their use of Common Traffic Advisory Frequencies (CTAF) to prevent midair collisions near non-towered airports, especially in Alaska.
This recommendation follows a preliminary investigation into a fatal midair collision near Soldotna, Alaska, in 2020, which resulted in seven fatalities and involved a non-towered airport where a CTAF was published.
The NTSB specifically asks the FAA to establish more CTAF areas in Alaska, designate a single frequency for non-towered airports within these areas, and define mandatory position reporting requirements.
Midair collisions, particularly in uncontrolled airspace in Alaska, have been a significant concern, with 12 out of 14 such incidents between 2005 and 2020 occurring in uncontrolled airspace and resulting in 35 fatalities.

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The National Transportation Safety Board wants the FAA to urge pilots to make more use of common traffic advisory frequencies (CTAF) as a tool to avoid midair collisions near non-towered airports.

The recommendation comes from lessons learned during the preliminary investigation into the collision of a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver and a Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser near Soldotna, Alaska, that resulted in seven fatalities.