Moving Targets

Twice in a lifetime is two times too many; two times when the operator of a moving machine stared a hole right through me and rendered me invisible. In both cases perfect conditions prevailed—nothing obstructed the view, yet our machines converged at a good clip. My first experience came at the hands of the driver of a 1977 Cadillac. My solution was to lay down a vintage motorcycle. It wasn’t my preferred choice, but obstacle and traffic conflicts made lateral maneuvering unwise. The second time came courtesy of two pilots in a Skyhawk during a VFR arrival to a non-towered airport in Florida’s panhandle.

Key Takeaways:

• Mid-air collisions and near-misses, though rare, frequently occur in good visibility conditions near non-towered airports at low altitudes, impacting pilots across all experience levels.
• Human vision is a poor tool for collision avoidance due to limitations such as reduced clarity at distance, poor contrast, and phenomena like motion-induced blindness, which can make objects disappear from sight.
• Effective visual scanning involves dividing the field of view into segments, moving eyes deliberately, and pausing for 1-2 seconds to focus on each segment rather than continuous head movement, which blurs vision.
• Pilots should utilize all available resources for collision avoidance, including engaging passengers, using ATC's VFR flight following, and being aware of environmental factors like twilight glare and the benefits of supplemental oxygen.

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