When Does ATC tell?

[Sunfish]

I was tootling around the circuit this morning practicing a few landings just for the pleasure of flying on such a nice day.

It was a little bumpy and tricky (OK not for all you stars) and I heard the following exchange:

"XYZ, I'm off the runway. (ATC) do you want assistance? (WYZ) Nup, I think I can get back to a taxi way. (ATC) Do you want assistance? Do you want me to contact your flying school and instructor? (XYZ) Nup, I've had enough this morning and with luck he probably hasn't seen me go off."

By the time I was on final he had cleared off.

OK experts, what should ATC do in such a situation?

[Di_Vosh]

I'm not an ATC, so I can't say what they'd do.

The ATC's at MB contact the flying school/aircraft owner if there has been a runway incursion or other offence, so the school knows (usually) before the student returns. Reporting a run off the runway? I'm not sure.

However, IF I was a flying instructor and IF that was one of my students, I'd like to know about it. Not necessarily to bollock him/her out, but to go through the situation with the student, determine the how and the why of it, and see what remedial training may be required.

The student doesn't do him/herself any favours if they try to cover this kind of thing up. Firstly, other people will know (e.g Sunfish in the cct, and anyone else on 118.1 at the time), so the chances of keeping it quiet are slim.

More importantly, if the student tries to cover up, they are:
1. Showing poor integrity and character by not owning up to their mistake.
2. Not allowing their instructor the opportunity to recitify a possible fault in their training.
3. Not allowing the operator the opportunity to inspect any possible damage to the undercarriage (very unlikely in this scenario I know)

My 2c.

DIVOSH!

[Binoculars]

Coiuldn't agree more with Divosh. I am most certainly NOT one to put in reports over minuscule matters, I'd much rather sort it out over a beer at the aero club, but this is different. For all the reasons Divosh gave I would most certainly be having a quite word in the instructor's ear, for educative as opposed to punitive purposes.

Would I put in an incident report? No comment.

[Capt Fathom]

Aeroclub would be a much better option to paperwork. Don't want to keep a bureaucrat in a job any longer than necessary ! :uhoh:
Now where is that wascally student pilot?
Centurion..frow em to the gwound..very woughly!

[Starts with P]

Leaving the runway is a reportable incident (via ESIR). That will get to the flying school.

[AlJassmi]

Having a look under Reportable Matters in good 'ol MATS - if it were an Air Transport Operation (defined as "a regular public transport operation or a charter operation) then it would require an ESIR to be submitted.

Section 7.5.4.3 i: take off or landing incidents, such as undershooting, over-running or running off the side of runways.

In this case of a VFR flight, probably not required. An alternative, if one was wanting to put a report in, is a GASSER (General Aviation System Safety Enhancement Report). This system is for reporting about locally based VFR aircraft at GAAP aerodromes. They are for minor matters that are usually addressed locally by ATC and the operator. Data from these reports goes to CASA and the ATSB. Though I believe ATC would generally just contact the relevant flying school.

You would probably find in this particular case the instructor had been keeping an eye on things and was waiting when the pilot returned.

[Arm out the window]

Sh*t yeah, ATC would be certainly right to call the school. Running off the runway is absolutely something that this person's instructor should know about, for the good of everyone.
I can't talk about tail draggers, having never flown one, and don't know if this incident involved one, but I'd reckon a deal of discussion and remedial instruction would be in order here which might otherwise be missed out on, resulting in probable future bad karma!

[maxgrad]

having had a frequent cuppa with tower dood I tend to think they are like drivers, (albeit multi tasking)
They have a good time and many a laugh but when it comes to business they do a nike.

they just do it!

They are being watched and checked by their seniors, the majority know their sh4t and understand it more to the piont.




the guys at YMEN were perfect examples of this.

If any of those are reading this
squak j bond:ok: :E

[Bidgee]

I would expect that the flying school would be monitoring the local radio frequency. I know that mine does.

P.S. I know that there is more than one freq. in use at MMB.