2025-05 · NASA ASRS report 2247268
General aviation pilot reported being unable to make timely CTAF calls and communication with other aircraft in the traffic pattern due to frequency congestion from surrounding airports.
For the past 6 months; I have operated out of CFD and I fly in the Central Texas area on an approximately weekly basis. During daylight hours and periods of good weather the volume of light GA activity is consistently and expectedly high. A problem that is becoming more prevalent is the oversaturation of the CTAF frequencies in the area. Particularly 123.000 MHz which is used at CFD; TPL; OCH; and LFK (among others). The volume of flight training (particularly at TPL; but somewhat at CFD and OCH) creates a greater than normal amount of pattern traffic for the same volume of aircraft which in turn leads to a greater than normal amount of use of the CTAF.All four airports' CTAF calls can be heard at pattern altitude simultaneously at CFD. This leads to numerous overlapping transmissions and delayed transmissions reducing the benefit of the CTAF significantly. I have experienced multiple instances in the past 6 months while operating at CFD where I was unable to make a timely CTAF call or communicate with another aircraft in the pattern due to frequency congestion. As of this report; I have experienced no conflicts or immediate threats. However; the probability of a mid-air collision between aircraft in the vicinity of CFD is elevated due to this problem. It is possible that other pilots have experienced conflicts; but they are unknown to me.I strongly recommend and request that the CTAF at CFD be redesignated to a separate frequency. Because CFD is located in the middle of all of these airports it receives the most overlap and congestion. Another possible solution is to assign TPL its own discrete frequency as it generates the majority of the frequency congestion.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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