AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2022 - 81

Parallel, offset runways are one of
the highest-risk environments for
wrong surface events. Something
about them can create an illusion
and lead to lining up on the
wrong runway. Perhaps we glom
on to the largest or most prominent
runway; perhaps in a glance,
we misidentify parallel taxiways as
runways; sometimes, we get caught
in expectation bias and land on our
" typical " runway or the runway we
were first cleared to. We can mitigate
some of the risk of parallel,
offset runways by knowing they
present a high-threat environment
for a wrong surface event and briefing
their presence as part of our
arrival procedure. Another good
technique is to dial in an approach
to the cleared runway, even if flying
a VFR pattern.
The unusual pattern entry
certainly didn't help, despite having
tower controllers working to
assist in deconfliction. The accident
scenario at North Las Vegas
is exactly why the FAA discourages
overhead, descending pattern
entry. Long, extended turns to final
like the Meridian used present a
lengthy " belly-up " period when
pilots are blind to conflicting traffic.
In a nontowered environment, a
standard pattern entry-extending
out a couple miles, descending to
pattern altitude and turning back to
enter downwind from a 45 degree
offset-offers longer and better visibility
to detect conflicts. Anytime
we engage in extended turns we
will benefit from rolling out of the
turn at least every 90 degrees to
clear our flight path and check for
traffic on our " belly-up " side.
And what about the Cessna
172? The pilots seemed to be executing
everything correctly, and
yet they lost their lives. It's not
casting blame to look in hindsight-while
recognizing we have
North Las Vegas Airport has offset, parallel runways, which create a high potential
for wrong-surface operations-even for pilots who routinely operate at the airport.
It's important to identify such conflicts, brief them before landing, and to confirm
that the runway you're lined up for is the runway on which you were cleared to land.
the clarity of hindsight-to ask if
there is anything they could have
done to recognize an impending
calamity so that, perhaps, if we are
ever faced with a similar circumstance,
we can identify it and use
the lessons we learn to avoid the
same tragic fate. Their continuous
turn in a high-wing aircraft would
possibly have blocked their view
of the Meridian descending upon
them. A quick " belly check " may
have helped. Were they building
pattern situational awareness, a
mental map of other traffic? Such
a mental map is always important,
but especially so during simultaneous
operations to parallel runways.
Finally, the accident is a harsh
reminder that we cannot completely
rely on air traffic controllers
for deconfliction. We always have
the responsibility to see and avoid.
Likely, the controller community is
assessing this incident as pilots are,
to understand what went wrong
and why the controller couldn't
prevent the collision. His repeated
calls confirming the landing runway
are a possible indication that
he saw something developing,
something that didn't seem quite
right. His vantage point seemed to
offer good visibility to see a pending
conflict developing. If in fact he
did sense it, a more blatant call, in
plain language, directing actions
or warning of pending traffic may
have been helpful.
Among the many lessons
already emerging from the North
Las Vegas midair, a prominent one
is that even under direction of a
control tower, we must maintain
our own situational awareness and
continue vigilant see-and-avoid
operations in the traffic pattern.
richard.mcspadden@aopa.org
AOPA PILOT / November 2022
81
SW-4, 14 JUL 2022 to 11 AUG 2022
SW-4, 14 JUL 2022 to 11 AUG 2022
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2022
