Approach to Bembridge

[Moore]

On Sunday 13th April 2014 I was having coffee at the Bembridge Hotel around 1215 or so, a beautiful day for flying. Two light a/c were converging over the sea due East from the hotel and heading South and not very high ie about 250 feet amsl or perhaps a little more as height is tricky to estimate from the ground. Difficult to judge but it appeared that both a/c had to take quite quick avoiding action to avoid a possible mid air. I suspect one a/c was in the blind spot of the other. It just shows what can happen so quickly when entering into an airfield circuit even over the sea and always seems to happen when you least expect it. It is certainly worth keeping an extra sharp lookout around the Isle of Wight and particularly near both Sandown and Bembridge. Converging at the same height, direction and speed will always cause possible conflict. Fortunately, no harm done was done in this case.

[India Four Two]

Moore,

You have reminded me of a close encounter in the Sandown circuit many years ago.

I was downwind righthand for 23 when I met a C150 downwind lefthand for the reciprocal runway 05. This was not a conflict that I had ever thought about before, but it is very high risk in a non-radio situation.

[TCAS FAN]

Has nobody heard of "SAFETYCOM"?

[Tall_Guy_in_a_PA28]

Bembridge and Sandown both have allocated a/g frequencies, so is Safetycom relevant in this case?

[India Four Two]

Just for the record, my flight at Sandown was before Safetycom had been invented! However, we were using the radio and 23 was the in-to-wind runway. Neither of us heard the 150 on the radio.

[Sir George Cayley]

Just to test my understanding are you saying both a/c were flying at around a height of 250' (80m)?

SGC

[Moore]

Difficult to say as everything happened so quickly but from the ground it looked close with avoiding action taken by both a/c.