How to Navigate Hazards and Distractions of Fall Flying

Managing crowded airspace over corn mazes, wildlife overflight regulations, and rapid-onset seasonal fog can be concerning.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, September 08, 2026 at 03:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Fall colors taken in from a GA plane [Credit: Jason McDowell]

Key Takeaways:

Autumnal seasons lead to significantly increased air traffic over scenic areas like corn mazes, requiring pilots to heighten situational awareness, use proper communication, and apply collision avoidance techniques.
Pilots must adhere to specific regulations when overflying wildlife, maintaining appropriate altitudes (often no lower than 2,000 feet) to avoid disturbance and be prepared to provide flight data for verification.
Shorter fall days and the risk of sudden atmospheric obscurations like fog necessitate that pilots refresh their night flying and instrument skills, diligently checking TAFs/METARs to prepare for unexpected conditions or diversions.

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If you live in a part of the world that has seasons when the trees change color, prepare yourself for more crowded skies. Starting in September there are significantly more aircraft over autumnal forests and the perennial seasonal favorite—the corn maze next to the pumpkin patch.

My favorite place to practice in the Seattle area is located over farmland east of the airport. Every year there are bright-orange pumpkins and mazes to find. In addition to training flights, there are many sightseeing flights. Between what’s on the ground and more airplanes in the air, there are a great many realistic distractions during lessons.