AN R22 HELI PLT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE 'CRYSTAL 3' VISUAL DEP PROC WHEN DEPARTING THE RAMP AT SNA.

Date: 1998-12 · Aircraft: Robinson R22

Anomalies: deviation-altitude-crossing-restriction-not-met|deviation-altitude-undershoot|deviation-track-heading-all-types|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy

Synopsis

AN R22 HELI PLT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE 'CRYSTAL 3' VISUAL DEP PROC WHEN DEPARTING THE RAMP AT SNA.

Narrative

ON THE DATE AND AT APPROX TIME AFOREMENTIONED AT SNA; I CALLED ATC FROM THE FBO ON THE E SIDE OF THE ARPT TO REQUEST A W DEP. THE ATC CTLR CONFIRMED THAT I WAS REQUESTING A 'CRYSTAL 3' DEP; AND I REPLIED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. AT THIS POINT; I RECEIVED A CLRNC TO TAKE OFF FROM HELI PAD 3 FOR A 'CRYSTAL 3' DEP AND REPEATED THE CLRNC INSTRUCTIONS TO ATC. ON RECEIVING THIS CLRNC; I HOVERED ACROSS A TXWY TO HELI PAD 3 AND BEGAN MY TKOF CLB S. AT APPROX 300 FT AGL; I LOOKED TO MY R TO CONFIRM THAT THE RWYS WERE CLR (NO TFC); AND BEGAN A SLOW 90 DEG R TURN TO CROSS THE RWYS; OVERFLY THE TWR AND THE 'CRYSTAL COURT SHOPPING CTR' (HENCE THE NAME 'CRYSTAL' DEP). AT THIS POINT; I RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE TWR; REQUESTING MY DEST (SEAL BEACH) AND HOME ARPT (TORRANCE); AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO CALL THE TWR UPON MY ARR. I HAD NOT BEEN AWARE OF ANY VIOLATION OR OTHER PROB AS HAVING OCCURRED; BUT THERE WAS APPARENTLY SOME REASON TO CALL THE TWR. I CALLED THE TWR AT THE NUMBER INSTRUCTED AND LEFT A MESSAGE AS INSTRUCTED. I RETURNED TO SNA LATER REQUESTING AND RECEIVING CLRNC FOR A 'CRYSTAL 3' ARR. AFTER DROPPING OFF MY PAX AT THE FBO; I REQUESTED A 'CRYSTAL 3' DEP. ON THIS SECOND DEP; I WAS ASKED BY ATC WHETHER I WAS A 'SIGNATORY TO THE LETTER.' I REPLIED 'NEGATIVE; I DO NOT KNOW THE LETTER TO WHICH YOU ARE REFERRING.' ATC INSTRUCTED ME TO HOLD. A MIN OR SO LATER; I WAS CLRED TO TAKE OFF FROM HELI PAD 3; MAKE A L 270 DEG TURN; AND FLY OVER THE TWR AT 600(?) FT. I COMPLIED AND DEPARTED THE CLASS C AIRSPACE WITH NO PROB. I SUBSEQUENTLY ASKED 3 CFI'S FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA WHAT 'LETTER' ATC MIGHT HAVE BEEN REFERRING TO; BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW. A FOURTH CFI I SPOKE WITH BELIEVED THAT THE 'LETTER' WAS A FORM OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OR UNDERSTANDING TO WHICH HELI PLTS FLYING IN AND OUT OF SNA SUBSCRIBED IN WHICH SPECIFIC PROCS WERE LAID OUT FOR ARRS AND DEPS; INCLUDING A CLBING L 270 DEG TURN FOR A 'CRYSTAL 3' DEP. THIS INFO CONFIRMED MY FEELINGS WHEN I RECEIVED THE SECOND DEP CLRNC FROM ATC THAT A CRYSTAL 3 DEP SPECIFICALLY CALLED FOR A L 270 DEG CLBING TURN. PRIOR TO THESE EVENTS; I HAD ONLY FLOWN TO AND FROM SNA ARPT ON 3 OTHER OCCASIONS. BEFORE FLYING TO SNA THIS TIME; I ASKED AND RECEIVED AN UPDATE FROM A CFI ON ARR PROCS AND WAS INFORMED TO REQUEST A 'CRYSTAL 3' ARR; FLY OVER THE CRYSTAL COURT SHOPPING CENTER; OVER THE TWR; CROSS THE RWYS; MAKE A 90 DEG R TURN; AND MAKE A STEEP APCH TO HELI PAD 3; WHICH I DID WITH CLRNC FROM ATC WITH NO PROB. ON 2 PREVIOUS DEPS; I MADE FROM HELI PAD 3 AT SNA; I SPECIFICALLY RECALL BEING INSTRUCTED TO MAKE 90 DEG R TURNS TO DEPART TO THE W. THEREFORE; WHEN ATC CONFIRMED MY REQUEST FOR A 'CRYSTAL 3' DEP ON MY FIRST DEP; I ASSUMED HE MEANT THE OPPOSITE OF MY ARR PROC; WHICH WAS TO MAKE A 90 DEG TURN TO CROSS THE RWYS. THIS SIT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF I HAD CONFIRMED TO ATC MY UNDERSTANDING (OR LACK THEREOF) OF A CRYSTAL 3 DEP ON RECEIVING THE TKOF CLRNC; OR IF ATC HAD QUERIED ME ON MY FIRST DEP REQUEST AS ATC HAD DONE ON THE SECOND DEP. SOME ARPTS; SUCH AS SANTA MONICA; PUBLISH AND DISTRIBUTE SPECIFIC HELI ARR AND DEP INSTRUCTIONS ILLUSTRATED ON ARPT MAPS. I AM NOT AWARE THAT SNA DOES THIS; BUT IF THEY DO NOT; IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL IF THEY DID. I TRIED 3 MORE TIMES CALLING THE NUMBER GIVEN TO ME BY THE TWR; AND LEFT MESSAGES AS INSTRUCTED; HOWEVER; I HAVE RECEIVED NO RESPONSE FROM THESE CALLS.

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