AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2015 - 118

P&E

118 |

NEVER AGAIN

Holy smokes! Off to the right an airplane appeared on short final and barely
five feet off the ground. The airplane was
less than 100 feet away from us when I
saw it. I jammed on the brakes and held
short. The other pilot saw us at the last
instant and went around, missing us by a
scant 50 feet.
My passenger hadn't seen the other
airplane until I braked hard. He looked at
me with panic-stricken eyes. We were so
shocked that neither of us spoke a word. I
was still trying to decide if the landing airplane was an apparition or the real deal.
Finally, the silence was broken when
the other pilot came on the radio and said
in a shaking voice that he would circle
until we took off. I then made a somewhat high-pitched call to announce that
we were back-taxiing for departure. I also
announced taking off, and we headed back
to civilization, my knees still slightly shaking. I heard the other pilot call out his base
and final as we left the area.

I felt like a fool for not
making that radio call and
asking if there was any
conflicting traffic before
I started to taxi onto the
runway.
I am sure both of us pilots had assumed
there was no traffic in the area and had
not bothered to use the radio. My airplane
probably was partially obscured from the
other pilot's view on downwind by the
large Douglas fir trees behind it-but I
felt like a fool for not making that radio
call and asking if there was any conflicting traffic before I started to taxi onto the
runway. I am convinced my first glance to
the right had not revealed the landing airplane because it was below the skyline and
blended in with the trees.

I am just glad I looked twice before
I started taxiing in earnest. I still get goose
bumps thinking about how close I came
to becoming a runway incursion statistic.
It was inexcusable not to use the radio.
Now, no matter what, I use the radio when
landing or taking off from any airstrip,
even if there is no other reported traffic.
Only a habitual second look before taxiing saved the day. Please look twice before
you leap, and make sure to use your radio
as well.
AOPA
KURT BECKER is a retired biologist who
lives in Melba, Idaho. He has more than
17,000 hours of flight time.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2015

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