A C172 INSTRUCTOR RPTS AN NMAC WITH A UH-60 AT MHK FOLLOWING CONFUSION ABOUT ONE OF TWO UN-60'S IN THE CTAF PRACTICE LNDG PATTERN.
Synopsis
A C172 INSTRUCTOR RPTS AN NMAC WITH A UH-60 AT MHK FOLLOWING CONFUSION ABOUT ONE OF TWO UN-60'S IN THE CTAF PRACTICE LNDG PATTERN.
Narrative
WHILE TAXIING FOR AN IFR DEP FROM MHK ARPT; WE WERE LISTENING TO CTAF. 2 UH-60 (BLACKHAWK) HELIS WERE WORKING IN THE VFR PATTERN AT THE ARPT. THEY WERE BOTH GIVING POS RPTS; AND MY STUDENT AND I WERE DOING THE SAME AS WE TAXIED. 1 HELI RPTED FINAL AND WE WATCHED IT LAND AND WE WERE TAXIING ACROSS THE CROSS RWY AT THE ARPT FOR A DEP ON RWY 21. WE HAD RECEIVED OUR IFR CLRNC FROM CTR; AND THERE WERE NO WARNINGS OF TFC FROM THAT CTLR. THE SECOND UH-60 RPTED FINAL; BUT WE WERE REACHING THE END OF THE RWY AS THEY WERE LNDG; AND THEIR FINAL APCH PUT THEM OUT OF OUR VIEW. WE STOPPED AT THE END OF THE TXWY AND DID OUR BEFORE TKOF CHKLIST. WE VISUALLY SCANNED FINAL AND THE DEP END OF THE RWY ONCE AGAIN BEFORE RPTING THAT OUR ACFT WAS TAKING RWY 21 FOR DEP. BOTH THE STUDENT AND MYSELF SAW THE LIGHTS OF A UH-60 ON CLBOUT. WE HEARD NO RESPONSE AND TAXIED FOR DEP. WE APPLIED FULL PWR AND ACCELERATED. I BEGAN TO SEE A FIGURE AND A RED LIGHT ON THE RWY. AT WHAT APPEARED TO BE THE INTXN OF THE RWY; I SAW ONE OF THE UH-60'S SITTING ON THE RWY. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK CTL OF THE ACFT; ROTATED; LIFTED OFF; AND SIDESTEPPED TO OUR R. MY STUDENT NEVER SAW THE HELI. ABOUT THE TIME WE WERE 200 FT TO THE R AND MAYBE 150 FT ABOVE THE HELI; THE PLT RADIOED THAT THEY WOULD SOON BE LIFTING OFF THE RWY. I RESPONDED BY SAYING THAT WE WERE ALREADY TO THEIR R AND ABOVE THEM. MY STUDENT CLAIMS THAT IF HE HAD BEEN ALONE; HE WOULD HAVE HIT THE HELI. I KNOW THAT I NEEDED TO BE A BIT MORE ASSERTIVE WHEN LOOKING FOR TFC; BUT MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT IS THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT ELAPSED FROM MY CALL OF TAKING THE RWY; TILL WE HEARD A RESPONSE FROM THE COPTER. I MUST HAVE MISTAKEN THE UH-60 ON CLBOUT FOR THE SECOND HELI; OR THE ONE I THOUGHT I WAS FOLLOWING. BOTH ACFT WERE ON TRAINING FLTS; AND THEN WE WERE OPERATING AT AN ARPT THAT HAS AN OPERATING CTL TWR FROM XA00-XO00. BETTER MONITORING OF CTAF BY THE UH-60 AND MORE DILIGENT SCANNING WOULD HAVE IMPROVED THE SITUATION. AN OPERATING CTL TWR WOULD HAVE ALSO PREVENTED THE INCIDENT.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.