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Are Towered Airports Safer?

While it is helpful to have someone with a bigger picture to help you manage situation awareness, it does not abdicate the pilot of their responsibility.

Tuesday, February 04, 2025 at 01:24 PM ET

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Edited By: tccjeremy

Most of the airports in the U.S.—some 20,000 of them—are nontowered facilities, like Pierce County Airport (KPLU). [Credit: Meg Godlewski]

Key Takeaways:

Pilots hold the primary responsibility for "see and avoid" collision avoidance, regardless of whether an airport is towered or nontowered, and should not rely solely on air traffic control.
Neither towered nor nontowered airports are inherently safer; pilot vigilance and good aeronautical decision-making are crucial for safety in all environments.
Accurate aircraft identification is critical, as misidentifying other traffic, even when following ATC instructions, poses a significant danger and can lead to mid-air collisions.
While technology like ADS-B enhances situational awareness, it complements, but does not replace, the pilot's fundamental duty to visually scan for traffic and be prepared to depart the pattern if unsure.

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It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) in late January has been a topic of discussion among pilots around the country. It was a horrible accident, taking the lives of 67 people and affecting so many more who loved them. The only positive thing that comes out of an event like this is that it can make pilots more vigilant when they fly at or near towered airports.

Are Towered Airports Safer?

One of the common misconceptions is that towered airports are inherently safer than nontowered airports, because air traffic control is “watching out” for the pilots. While it is helpful to have someone with a bigger picture to help you manage situation awareness, it does not abdicate the pilot of their responsibility. The pilot still has to display good aeronautical decision making.

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.