1994-05 · NASA ASRS report 270643
NMAC NEAR A MIL ARPT. SMT ON DEP FROM NON TWR ARPT. MIL BOMBER ON VISUAL APCH TO IAB.
JABARA; 3KM ARPT IS APPROX 7.5 NM NNE OF MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE JUST OUTSIDE OF ICT CLASS C AIRSPACE AND JUST OUTSIDE OF MCCONNELL CLASS D AIRSPACE; AND THERE'S 3 OTHER ARPTS ON A LINE BTWN 3KM AND MCCONNELL; ALL WITHIN A MI OF AN ILS CTRLINE TO A SSW RWY AT MCCONNELL; SO THIS AREA IS JUSTIFIABLY ENCLOSED BY ALERT AREA A-683. MY FLT WAS FROM 3KM TO OJC IN OLATHE; THE WX WAS GOOD VMC; BUT I FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN; AS I ALMOST ALWAYS DO. THEY WERE TAKING OFF S AT 3KM AND MY CLRNC WAS TO MAINTAIN 3000 FT AND STANDBY FOR ATC RELEASE. I REMEMBERED SEEING ALL THESE OTHER ARPTS CLOSE BY ON THE WAY IN AND I READ IN THE FLT PLANNING ROOM AT 3KM THE NOTICE TO NOT TKOF WITHOUT CLRNC FROM ICT DEP; SO I ASSUMED THAT ICT DEP WAS COORDINATING MCCONNELL TFC OR OTHER OBSERVED TFC AT THE OTHER CIVILIAN ARPTS. WHEN I RECEIVED A RELEASE FOR TKOF; I WAS GIVEN A VECTOR TO TURN TO AFTER TKOF. 090 DEGS AS I RECALL; BUT I DIDN'T WRITE IT DOWN; HAVING GOTTEN MY ATC CLRNC EARLIER; BUT IT WAS EITHER 090 OR 050 DEGS (MY INITIAL COURSE WAS 050 DEGS). I WENT BACK TO UNICOM TO ANNOUNCE MY TKOF AND BEGAN MY ROLL. NORMALLY; I WOULDN'T SWITCH BACK TO DEP UNTIL CLR OF THE UNCTLED ARPT TFC PATTERN; BUT THE DENSITY OF THE ARPTS MADE ME FEEL JUSTIFIED IN SWITCHING RIGHT AFTER TKOF; WHILE IN MY TURN TO 090 DEGS. MY ATTN MIGHT HAVE BEEN MOMENTARILY DIVERTED TO INSIDE THE COCKPIT WHILE SWITCHING; BUT NOT SIGNIFICANTLY LONG BECAUSE THE FREQ WAS ALREADY SET UP AND ALL IT TOOK WAS 1 CLICK OF THE XMITTER SELECT. IN ANY CASE; BEFORE I COULD TALK TO DEP; I FOUND MYSELF NOSE TO NOSE WITH A B1; APPARENTLY ON A L BASE TO THE SSW RWY AT MCCONNELL. I WAS IN A L BANK; AND HE WAS IN A L BANK; AND I INSTINCTIVELY INCREASED MY BANK SIGNIFICANTLY AND APPLIED SOME G'S AND CHKED MY ALT. I WAS APCHING 3000 FT; MY CLRNC ALT. I CALLED DEP TO CONFIRM MY CLRNC ALT; AND THEY CONFIRMED 3000 FT AND STATED THAT THE TANKER (?) SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THERE; SO THEY APPARENTLY WATCHED THE WHOLE THING UNFOLD ON RADAR. I AGREED WITH THEM ABOUT THE TANKER AND CONTINUED ON MY WAY; SHAKEN BUT ALIVE. ICT DEP NEEDS TO DO A BETTER JOB OF CTLING/COORDINATING TFC AT THIS MINIMUM HIGH DENSITY TFC AREA. I DON'T HAVE A COPY OF THE MCCONNELL APCH PLATE; SO I COULDN'T CHK; BUT IF ICT APCH/DEP IS NOT CTLING TFC AT MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE; IT SHOULD BE. THESE ARPTS ARE TOO CLOSE FOR 'COORDINATING' BTWN FACILITIES. THIS TFC ALL HAS TO BE TALKING TO THE SAME MAN. AIRPLANES CAN COLLIDE WHILE ATC IS 'COORDINATING.' ANOTHER FACTOR TO CONSIDER IS MOST MIL PLTS ARE YOUNG AND RELATIVELY INEXPERIENCED; AND THEY ARE USUALLY FLYING FAST AND/OR COMPLEX EQUIP. WHILE THEIR TRAINING IS AERODYNAMICALLY PROBABLY THE BEST IN THE WORLD; THEY FINISH THAT TRAINING WITH AN 'I'M THE ONLY GUY IN THE SKY' ATTITUDE. THIS HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO ME REPEATEDLY OVER THE LAST 30 YRS. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I'VE SEEN A MIL PLT CREATE HAVOC IN AN UNCTLED ARPT TFC PATTERN. THEY CANNOT BE RELIED UPON TO 'DO THE RIGHT THING' WHEN IT COMES TO SHARING AIRSPACE. THEY NEED MORE 'POSITIVE CTL' THAN THE AVERAGE PLT. THIS NEEDS TO BE PLUGGED INTO THE EQUATION AT WICHITA.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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