Av Hazard publicizes safety and operational concerns to help prevent accidents but it works only if we hear from you. Use the postage-free Av Hazard card to describe the hazard and return it to Pro Pilot. To obtain an official FAA review send NASA an ASRS form. For immediate action, call the Airport, FBO, ATC, FSDO or FAA’s 24-hr Safety Hotline at 800-255-1111. Note: Telephone numbers for all US Towers and ARTCCs are published in Ac-U-Kwik and Pilots Express Airport/Heliport/FBO directories. To report safety concerns outside the US, contact ICAO HQ at 514-954-8219 or via fax at 514-954-6077. ICAO has worldwide telephone and fax numbers to expedite Av Hazard reports to civil aviation authorities.

Basic radio 101

Not a flight goes by without hearing too many times from a controller, “Who said that?” or “What did they say?” Nearly every accident report transcript contains evidence of poor radio work and this is often listed as contributing to the accident. It seems that too many of us are trying to sound macho instead of trying to be heard and understood. For starters, we need to use our N-number in every transmission. Then we need to get rid of all of the slang, CB jargon, adjectives and other words that contribute nothing to being understood. This only takes up precious airwave time and baffles and confuses the listener. This includes phantom mike clicks, rogers, wilcos, yeahs and okays. Compose the transmissions before keying the mike.
__ ATP. Hawker Siddeley HS125

• Proper radio usage has been the topic of many recent Av Hazard reports. By the way, there is actually a definition for that phantom mike click. It’s called a “zipper” and is defined as 2 quick clicks of a mike to acknowledge a transmission. One location where this can be found is in an obsolete copy of the US Army’s Field Manual, FM 1-107, Air-to-Air Combat. At the time, it was considered proper technique to reduce the amount of radio time or even respond with a quick tactical sound and not transmit long enough for the enemy to locate your position or direction. That being said, aviation today is a much more complex system, and slang, jargon and “spectacularized” phrases like “I got ’em on the fish finder” have no place in professional aviation. Common error accidents are a thing of the past and the remaining casual factors of accidents are primarily human error. Good communication between crewmembers and ATC must be clear, concise and to the point. The runway incursion rate has not subsided, and improper radio usage could be the catalyst that causes the next accident chain.

Phoenix congestion

I departed FFZ (Mesa AZ), near Phoenix under its Class B airspace, and contacted Phoenix Departure to get flight following. This was to request a climb through Class B because of hot, turbulent, windy conditions, in addition to dealing with some formidable terrain east of Phoenix. This was granted. Leaving PHX (Sky Harbor, Phoenix AZ), I was advised “ABQ (Sunport, Albuquerque NM) unable to make the handoff.” There were thunderstorm build-ups in the area and ABQ was using this shrinking VFR corridor to get airliners into Phoenix.

Soon after leaving PHX Class B, I was in a whirlwind of tightly packed Boeing 737s lined up in the opposite direction. I tuned to ABQ Center and listened to the controller spout off my position to 5 passenger jets before I could get a word in to indicate I was not some renegade VFR aircraft in his VFR corridor. I’m sure some of his required separation minimums were broken, because mine sure were. I think better communications between PHX and ABQ are in order. This raised a very serious breach in safety. I try to work with them around PHX, but I’m often shutdown because they are “unable for VFR.” Also, IFR out of the Phoenix area from FFZ is unacceptable any time PHX is busy or there are thunderstorms. Wait times on the ground are long, and at times they send aircraft in the opposite direction to where they want to go initially. This is not acceptable in the summer with ground temperatures. An antiquated IFR system at FFZ only adds to the frustration, which is why I operate VFR in and out of both PHX and FFZ.
__Comm-Multi-Inst/CFI. Cessna 414

Lead-off to nowhere at BVS

Runway 22 has a lead-off line that goes into a grass area between the runway and the parallel taxiway at BVS (Burlington WA). This situation has existed for several months now and has not been rectified. Even being aware of this hazard, I have nearly taxied off the runway into a certain prop strike on 2 occasions. Transient pilots using the turbine maintenance facility at BVS are at serious risk.
__ ATP. Piper PA46T Meridian

• Improper runway markings are a serious hazard, and they need to be corrected as soon as possible. The taxi line needs to be obliterated to keep pilots from following incorrect markings. This Av Hazard has been forwarded to the airport manager.

Unwise landing plan

I continue to observe pilots using cheater’s dice to achieve shorter landing distances. These include flying shallower than the glideslope, VASI or PAPI. Other poor techniques pilots are using include ducking under the glidepath on short final and flying at airspeeds less than recommended for lower touchdown speed. If these techniques need to be used, the runway is too short and we should find a runway of adequate length. Some think they are immune to laws of physics and some are just poorly trained.
__ ATP. Hawker 800XP

• Most pilots are aware, but for the few out there who attempt to defy the laws of physics, the landing charts in all aircraft err on the conservative side and should be followed. The charts are based on effective brakes, stabilized landing configuration, antiskid working (if installed) and sometimes minimum-performing engines, all working in harmony to stop the aircraft. Unfortunately, there are few accidents when everything is working. Just a short trip to the National Transportation Safety Board website will show that an accident chain can develop from 1 or 2 items combined with another, leading to an accident.
Every one of us has witnessed a pilot not exactly being professional. Those pilots choosing to defy physics should remember Newton’s Third Law of motion—for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
It is further described as contact interactions (frictional, tensional, gravitational, electrical, and magnetic forces), all or some of which can occur on landing. A famous actor’s favorite line is “Do you feel lucky?” Following the manufacturer’s procedures ensures that you don’t end up on the other side of Newton’s Third Law of motion.