Mid-Air Collisions: The Myth And The Math

Few chapters in the great book of safe flying are as incomplete and misleading as guidance for avoiding mid-air collisions. In over 50 years of active flying, I have not yet seen any information accurately describing a workable method ensuring awareness and avoidance of mid-air collisions for the general aviation pilot. In fact, the FAAs well-meaning rules and guidance may be dysfunctional seeds of disaster, sown early in a pilots flying career, later leading to a mid-air collision. Its actually a familiar story: Concepts based on intuitive assumptions-instead of empirical knowledge-so often become concrete and immutable. The pilots ability to see and be seen is one of the most profound of all safety myths, and understanding why pilots are not always able to meet this obligation will help avoid complacency, motivating us all to compensate for deficiencies in the system. Lets get started.

Key Takeaways:

• The traditional "see and avoid" method is flawed, as pilots have significant blind spots and limited effective scan areas, making collision avoidance particularly difficult when aircraft are flying at similar speeds.
• A key takeaway is that a higher speed ratio between converging aircraft actually enhances collision avoidance for the faster airplane by narrowing the visual "scan-demand" cone and moving the slower target out of blind spots.
• Many FAA regulations, such as the 250 KIAS speed limit below 10,000 feet and hemispheric altitude rules, inadvertently increase collision risk by forcing aircraft into dangerous co-speed and co-altitude scenarios.
• To actively minimize collision risk, pilots should adopt dynamic maneuvering habits like "clearing-weaves" and banking turns to clear blind spots, enhance visibility, and aid in visual acquisition, as straight-and-level flight increases vulnerability.

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