C172 STUDENT TRAINING FLT ENCOUNTERS SKYDIVERS DURING TOUCH-AND-GO TKOF CLB AT E80 ARPT.
Synopsis
C172 STUDENT TRAINING FLT ENCOUNTERS SKYDIVERS DURING TOUCH-AND-GO TKOF CLB AT E80 ARPT.
Narrative
LCL NOTAM PUBLISHED CONCERNING PARACHUTE JUMPING AT BELEN-ALEXANDER ARPT ON WKENDS. NOTICES WERE DISTRIBUTED TO FBO'S IN ALBUQUERQUE AREA DEPICTING DROP ZONE TO BE E OF THE RWY 3/21. THIS ARPT IS USED HEAVILY FOR STUDENT TRAINING. WHILE PRACTICING TOUCH-AND-GO LNDGS WITH PRE-SOLO FLT STUDENT ON RWY 3; JUMP ACFT WAS HEARD TO ANNOUNCE 'JUMPERS IN THE AIR.' FOLLOWING A TOUCH-AND-GO LNDG; SHORTLY AFTER LIFTOFF; MULTIPLE PARACHUTISTS WERE OBSERVED TO THE W AND IMMEDIATELY OVER THE RWY AT APPROX 500 FT AGL. MY ALT WAS ABOUT 100 FT AGL. I CONTINUED THE TKOF STRAIGHT AHEAD; PASSING BENEATH THE PARACHUTISTS. THERE IS A DROP ZONE LOCATED 3 MI S OF THE BELEN-ALEXANDER ARPT THAT DOES NOT CONFLICT WITH ACFT TFC. LATELY ON WKENDS; THE SKYDIVING COMPANY HAS BEEN JUMPING ONTO THE ARPT. THIS PRESENTS A HAZARD TO ACFT AND TO PARACHUTISTS. WHEN THE DROP ZONE ON THE ARPT IS IN USE; UPON HEARING THE CALL 'JUMPERS IN THE AIR;' ACFT IN THE TFC PATTERN SHOULD EXIT THE PATTERN BY THE MOST DIRECT RTE. IN THIS INSTANCE; DUE TO THE HIGH COCKPIT WORKLOAD BROUGHT ABOUT BY STUDENT INSTRUCTION; I WAS UNAWARE OF THE TIME LAPSE BTWN THE CALL OF 'JUMPERS IN THE AIR' AND EXECUTION OF THE TOUCH-AND-GO LNDG. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR REALIZED THAT HE SHOULD HAVE MADE FULL STOP LNDG AFTER HIS STUDENT TOOK OFF AND THEY THEN NOTICED THAT THEY WERE CLBING OUT UNDER THE DSNDING SKYDIVERS. HE STATED THAT HE DID DISCUSS THIS MATTER WITH THE JUMP ACFT PLT THAT NORMALLY FLY THE SKYDIVERS AND LEARNED THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER ACFT AND PLT CONDUCTING THE OPS ON THE DAY OF THIS INCIDENT. THE SPECIAL NOTAM CALLED FOR THE JUMPERS TO LAND ON THE ARPT 300 FT SE OF THE RWY AND THAT IT WAS A CONTEST TO SEE HOW MANY JUMPS COULD BE MADE IN A SPECIFIED TIME AND WOULD NOT BE CONDUCTED ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS. APPROX 1 OR 2 PER YR.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.