Pattern Problems: Why Sloppy Entries Can Lead to Close Calls

Spend less time polishing what you already do well and more on the skills that could one day save your life.

Max Trescott

Friday, January 30, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The approach to landing, or even the entry into a traffic pattern, garners less attention from pilots, probably because it seems trivial compared to landing a plane. [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

Pilots often neglect practicing critical skills like traffic pattern entries and airport orientation, instead focusing on familiar tasks, which can lead to dangerous situations and accidents.
Lack of thorough pre-flight planning and poor in-flight orientation, especially at unfamiliar or complex airports, poses significant safety risks, as illustrated by the author's own early career mistake and a recent near-incident during a pilot phase check.
To enhance aviation safety, pilots must deliberately practice challenging flight maneuvers and utilize cockpit instruments (such as the HSI and MFD) for better orientation and planning, rather than avoiding difficult scenarios.

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When you fly, do you practice difficult things that you don’t do well? Or do you focus on the easy stuff, leaving harder skills to rust until you need them most?

Pilots tend to focus on takeoffs and landings, which make sense, since they’re critical phases of flight. By comparison, the approach to landing, or even the entry into a traffic pattern, garners less attention, probably because it seems trivial compared to landing a plane.