TWIN ENG AIRPLANE FLOWN TO PRACTICE SINGLE ENG APCH CUTS OUT OTHER ACFT IN TFC PATTERN.

Date: 1995-08 · Aircraft: Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer

Anomalies: conflict-nmac|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-other-unknown|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|other-unspecified

Synopsis

TWIN ENG AIRPLANE FLOWN TO PRACTICE SINGLE ENG APCH CUTS OUT OTHER ACFT IN TFC PATTERN.

Narrative

APCHED FDK ARPT IN CAVU CONDITIONS AT XA15 PM ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOR LNDG AFTER CANCELING IFR WITH IAD APCH OVER MRB VOR; SO I WAS VFR AT TIME OF THE INCIDENTS. MONITORED AWOS AND GOT BRIEFING FROM FDK UNICOM. OVERFLEW FDK W-E AT 3000 FT; MONITORED UNICOM; NOTED VERY HVY TFC IN THE PATTERN. SPIRALED DOWN TO PATTERN ALT (1300 FT) WELL E OF THE FIELD AND ORBITED THERE LOOKING FOR A BREAK TO ENTER PATTERN. WHILE ORBITING AND WATCHING/LISTENING FOR TFC; 2 OTHER PLANES JOINED ME IN TURN. FINALLY THERE WAS NO ONE ON DOWNWIND (R TFC FOR RWY 5); SO I ANNOUNCED AND MADE A 45 DEG DOWNWIND LEG PATTERN ENTRY. THE OTHER PLANES FOLLOWED ME AT A WELL-SPACED DISTANCE. AS SOON AS I HAD TURNED DOWNWIND I HAD TO TURN VIOLENTLY TO THE L TO AVOID A VERY FAST ACFT COMING IN FROM THE R REAR. IT WAS A T-TAILED TWIN; LATER IDENTED AS A PIPER SEMINOLE. THE OTHER 2 ACFT FOLLOWING ME ALSO HAD TO TAKE EVASIVE ACTION. THE TWIN HAD ENTERED DOWNWIND FROM STRAIGHT-IN AT VERY HIGH SPD (ESTIMATE GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO 130 KTS) WITH NO RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT. I RE-ENTERED THE PATTERN AND LANDED BEHIND THE TWIN. THE ONLY RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT MADE BY THE TWIN THAT I OR ANY OTHER PLTS HEARD (WE COMPARED NOTES LATER) WAS WHEN HE ANNOUNCED 'CLRING THE RWY' AS HE TAXIED OFF. 10 MINS LATER; WHILE TYING DOWN MY ACFT ON THE RAMP; I HEARD A LOUD ROAR OF ENGS AND LOOKED UP. A TAMPICO WAS JUST TAKING OFF FROM RWY 5 AND AT AN ALT OF ABOUT ONLY 150-200 FT. THE SAME TWIN (I SAW THE N-NUMBER) WAS FLYING AT WHAT SOUNDED LIKE FULL PWR UNDER THE TAMPICO AND RACING IN FRONT OF HIM; WHERE THE TWIN EXECUTED A HARD PULL-UP AND R TURN TO DOWNWIND. THE TWIN MISSED THE TAMPICO BY LESS THAN 50 FT; PASSING UNDER THE SLOWER LOW WING ACFT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED FDK SHOULD HAVE A CTL TWR. THE TFC IS HVY; AND HIGHLY DIVERSIFIED. THE INTERMIX INCLUDES J-3 CLUB WITH NO RADIO OPERATING OFF THE GRASS ON ITS OWN PATTERN; TO CORPORATE HAWKER AND CHARTER LEAR JETS. THE ARPT HAS MANY VISITORS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY AND WORLD. THERE IS HVY TRAINING ACTIVITY. FDK IS THE ONLY ARPT WITHIN MILES WITH AN ILS AVAILABLE TO GA FOR PRACTICE. THERE IS GLIDER TRAINING AND HELI TRAINING. THE SEMINOLE CAME FROM GAITHERSBURG ARPT AND DOES SO FREQUENTLY TO USE THE ILS AND VOR AND OTHER FDK FACILITIES AS DO OTHER AIRPLANES FROM OTHER ARPTS IN THE AREA. BALTIMORE IS THE CTLING AGENCY EVEN THOUGH THEIR RADAR CAN NOT SEE MUCH BELOW 3000 FT. WHILE DULLES RADAR CAN SEE AIRPLANES TO THE SURFACE AT FDK WITH THEIR RADAR. WHY THEN DOESN'T DULLES CTL THE ACFT IN THE FDK AREA? BECAUSE OF THE NEED TO EVEN THE TFC COUNT BTWN DULLES AND BALTIMORE. UNFORTUNATELY; A CESSNA 210 FLEW INTO A HILL WHILE MANEUVERING FOR AN ILS AND TALKING TO BALTIMORE WHO COULD NOT SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THEIR RADAR. DULLES WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE AND PREVENT THAT FATAL ACCIDENT. THE CESSNA 210 WAS THE SECOND SUCH ACCIDENT WITHIN THE LAST FEW YRS. THE RPTR; HIMSELF AN ATP AND AN INSTRUCTOR PLT; FEELS STRONGLY THAT IN ADDITION TO HAVING A CTL TWR THAT IF BALTIMORE IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE THE CTLING AGENCY THEN BALTIMORE SHOULD HAVE THE RADAR INFO FROM DULLES RELAYED TO THEIR FACILITY.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.