A BELLANCA DECATHLON PLT RPT ON AN NMAC WITH A FORMATION FLT OF BLACKHAWK HELIS 8 MI NE OF WJF; CA.

Date: 2000-02 · Aircraft: Decathlon 8KCAB · Phase: descent

Anomalies: atc-issue-all-types|conflict-nmac|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far

Synopsis

A BELLANCA DECATHLON PLT RPT ON AN NMAC WITH A FORMATION FLT OF BLACKHAWK HELIS 8 MI NE OF WJF; CA.

Narrative

AT OR NEAR XA30 ON FEB/TUE/2000; I WAS PRACTICING LOW ALT SIMULATED ENG FAILURES IN A BELLANCA 8KCAB DECATHLON; OVER THE SW CORNER OF ROSAMOND DRY LAKE NEAR MOJAVE; CA. MY PRACTICE PLACED ME AT AND BELOW 500 FT AGL. WHILE PRACTICING; I ENCOUNTERED A FLT OF 4 BLACKHAWK HELIS MOVING SE TO NW OVER MY POS AT APPROX 500 FT AGL AND 2000 FT HORIZ DISTANCE FROM MY AIRPLANE. 2 OF THE BLACKHAWKS APPEARED TO MAKE AN ALT CHANGE IN ORDER TO AVOID MY AIRPLANE. THEY PASSED OVER MY AIRPLANE ABOUT 200 FT HIGHER. NARRATIVE: AT THE TIME; I WAS IN A CLASS G AIRSPACE OVER THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARY OF ISABELLA AND BUCKHORN MOA'S; NE OF GENERAL FOX ARPT AT 035 DEGS MAGNETIC AND 8 NM; NNW OF LANCASTER ARPT AT 340 DEGS AND 12 NM; AND SW OF EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE 220 DEGS AND 12 NM. I CHOSE THE AREA AS A PRACTICE AREA BECAUSE IT IS IN UNCTLED AIRSPACE; BECAUSE IT IS UNPOPULATED AND FREE OF PERSONS; VESSELS; VEHICLES AND STRUCTURES; BECAUSE ROSAMOND LAKE'S SW CORNER SERVED AS AN EXCELLENT LANDMARK FOR KEEPING ME CLR OF RESTR AREA R-2515; BECAUSE THE AREA I SELECTED WAS FLAT AND CLR OF OBSTRUCTIONS IN ALL DIRECTIONS; AND BECAUSE THE DRY LAKE BED PROVIDED A SAFE LNDG AREA IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT OF AN ENG FAILURE AT LOW ALT. IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE HELIS; I MADE A 270 DEG TURN TO THE L. I MADE USE OF THE 'GREENHOUSE' OVERHEAD PANEL IN THE DECATHLON I WAS FLYING TO KEEP THE HELIS ABOVE ME IN SIGHT. AFTER THE HELIS PASSED OVERHEAD; I TERMINATED MY LOW ALT PRACTICE AND HEADED TO MOJAVE ARPT. I FLEW ON A N-NORTHWESTERLY COURSE TOWARDS THE W FLANK OF SILVER QUEEN MOUNTAIN IN PREPARATION FOR A VFR ENTRY INTO THE PATTERN AT MOJAVE. MY COURSE PUT ME 1-2 MI IN TRAIL OF THE HELIS. I BELIEVED MY AIRSPD OF 90 KTS WAS WELL BELOW THAT OF THE HELIS. I ALSO FELT I WAS AT A SAFE DISTANCE BEHIND THE REARMOST OF THE 4 HELIS. APPROX 3 MI NW OF ROSAMOND; 2 OF THE HELIS BROKE OUT OF FORMATION TO THE E AND CIRCLED AROUND TO MY 6 O'CLOCK POS; ABOVE AND BEHIND MY AIRPLANE. THE OTHER 2 HELIS CONTINUED NNWBOUND. I WAS EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE BEING SANDWICHED BTWN 2 HELIS AHEAD AND 2 BEHIND. MOREOVER; I WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE HELIS BEHIND ME DESPITE REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO SLIP MY AIRPLANE FOR A BETTER VIEW TO THE REAR THROUGH THE SIDE WINDOWS (THE DECATHLON HAS NO REAR WINDOW). IN ORDER TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE HELIS; I MADE A 360 DEG TURN TO THE L AND PLACED MYSELF ONCE AGAIN BEHIND THE HELIS. AS SOON AS I WAS AGAIN IN TRAIL OF ALL 4 HELIS; THE 2 REARMOST HELIS OF THE FLT MADE A 360 DEG TURN TO THE R AND REPOSITIONED THEMSELVES HIGH AND BEHIND MY AIRPLANE. I GAVE UP TRYING TO CIRCLE BACK BEHIND THE HELIS AND CONTINUED ON TO MOJAVE. WHILE ENRTE TO MOJAVE; I CLBED TO TFC PATTERN ALT OF 1000 FT AGL. DURING THE CLB; I ATTEMPTED TO SLIP MY AIRPLANE TO KEEP THE TRAILING HELIS IN SIGHT. I WAS EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE THE HELIS BEHIND ME. I WAS SO PREOCCUPIED THAT I MAY HAVE FLOWN WITHIN 500 FT OF A STRUCTURE BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO CLB TO 1000 FT AGL. I CONTACTED MOJAVE TWR AND HE ADVISED ME TO BE CAUTIOUS OF 2 HELIS THAT HAD ENTERED THE MOJAVE CLASS D SURFACE AREA WITHOUT CONTACTING THE TWR. I RESPONDED THAT I WAS ALREADY AWARE OF THE HELIS AND THAT; IN FACT; THERE WAS 4; 2 OF WHICH WERE BEHIND ME NOT YET VISIBLE TO THE TWR CTLR. I MADE AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG AT MOJAVE AFTER ENTERING A R DOWNWIND FOR RWY 12.

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