Infringements of the Heathrow CTR
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Infringements of the Heathrow CTR
Well folks, yesterday there were an unbelievable FIVE infringements of the LHR CTR, one of which tracked from White Waltham, eastwards towards Heathrow, straight into their departures. At least two of the others (either intentionally or not) cut the northwest corner south of Beaconsfield.
Was there a huge solar flare that played havoc with compasses, or were these folks just lacking awareness? I know we are all human, but still find it difficult to understand how folks can get it so wrong at times.....how can we all prevent this kind of occurrence repeating itself week after week?
Was there a huge solar flare that played havoc with compasses, or were these folks just lacking awareness? I know we are all human, but still find it difficult to understand how folks can get it so wrong at times.....how can we all prevent this kind of occurrence repeating itself week after week?
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One of those pilots was a student on a QXC from Thruxton to Sywell. His heading was supposed to be 027 degrees for 72 miles. Unfortunately he ended up flying 072 degrees which put him in the Heathrow Zone. I believe that he mistook the Madejski Stadium at Reading for the Oxford United ground and RAF Northolt for Kidlington.
It is very easy when under a little bit of pressure to convince yourself that you are where you should be rather than where you actually are. A few other issues compounded the problem but he did eventually get onto 121.5 when he realised his error.
It is very easy when under a little bit of pressure to convince yourself that you are where you should be rather than where you actually are. A few other issues compounded the problem but he did eventually get onto 121.5 when he realised his error.
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Surely it's possible to identify the culprit from White Waltham isn't it?
Anybody taking off from there should no better, and deserves a severe kicking IMHO.
Mind you, I did hear a story about an elderly bloke on his last ever flight. He flew directly south from Denham! Could be just a Prumour though.
(I think I've just invented a euphamism for a pprune rumour!)
Anybody taking off from there should no better, and deserves a severe kicking IMHO.
Mind you, I did hear a story about an elderly bloke on his last ever flight. He flew directly south from Denham! Could be just a Prumour though.
(I think I've just invented a euphamism for a pprune rumour!)
Bit harsh Stick, IMHO, yes he made a gross error, but reportedly got on to D&D as soon as he realised he was lost. Requires sympathy and further training rather than kicking IMHO.
As to the original posters question wondering what we can do about it,
I would say a far better safety case could be made for mandatory GPS with airspace warnings than a Mode S txp.
(Cue arguments about heads in cockpits missing visual nav clues, despite reported stude mis-identifying many on subject flight
)
As to the original posters question wondering what we can do about it,
I would say a far better safety case could be made for mandatory GPS with airspace warnings than a Mode S txp.
(Cue arguments about heads in cockpits missing visual nav clues, despite reported stude mis-identifying many on subject flight
)
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I made my post before it was revealed that there was a student involved, so no, he doesn't deserve a kicking!
His instructor on the other hand.......
The way it read from the original post was that the flight originated from WW, and one imagines that any qualified pilot flying from there would know not to fly east!
I'm not an instructor, but I can't help thinking that WW, with it's proximity to LHR, is not a particularly good place to send a student on a XC excercise.
I wonder how this episode has affected the student's confidence.
His instructor on the other hand.......
The way it read from the original post was that the flight originated from WW, and one imagines that any qualified pilot flying from there would know not to fly east!
I'm not an instructor, but I can't help thinking that WW, with it's proximity to LHR, is not a particularly good place to send a student on a XC excercise.
I wonder how this episode has affected the student's confidence.
I did a QXC not long ago, part of which was between Brentwood and Shoreham, and made damn sure I stayed to the east of Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells so that I was not in danger of infringing London Airspace or Gatwick's CTR even if off course.
When you're inexperienced you should take every precaution not to infringe CTRs. I am sorry, but even student pilots shouldn't be that far off course.
Having said that, I'm not perfect and people make mistakes, so I hope the poor chap/chapette is not too dispirited and treats it as part of the learning process. At least nothing bad happened!
When you're inexperienced you should take every precaution not to infringe CTRs. I am sorry, but even student pilots shouldn't be that far off course.
Having said that, I'm not perfect and people make mistakes, so I hope the poor chap/chapette is not too dispirited and treats it as part of the learning process. At least nothing bad happened!
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The infringers don't deserve a kicking - after all, they didn't do it deliberately.
How about a really drastic suggestion for a change.... something that has rarely happened in the history of British aviation.... have a word with the instructor(s), perhaps??
Hopefully, the student involved will not get put off by this and simply go out and buy himself a decent GPS.
- after all, they didn't do it deliberately.How about a really drastic suggestion for a change.... something that has rarely happened in the history of British aviation.... have a word with the instructor(s), perhaps??
Hopefully, the student involved will not get put off by this and simply go out and buy himself a decent GPS.
having flown the same route on my QXC, i find it hard to believe that if the student has done most of his/her training at WW, the visual clues close to WW would not have been obvious. the incorrect route would have taken the a/c close to aldermaston/burghfield, greenham common etc, and anyone who flies from WW would easily recognise Reading. so i dont think we have the whole story.
having said that, things dont always go according to plan on QXC`s, and panic can easily set in. most of the WLAC warriors have a lovely garmin 430, the moving map part of which is not normally explained to students. a bleep from the airspace warning would have alerted the student long before the infringement ocurred.
im with those who say that GPS must be taught in the syllabus.
having said that, things dont always go according to plan on QXC`s, and panic can easily set in. most of the WLAC warriors have a lovely garmin 430, the moving map part of which is not normally explained to students. a bleep from the airspace warning would have alerted the student long before the infringement ocurred.
im with those who say that GPS must be taught in the syllabus.
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anyone who flies from WW would easily recognise Reading
The reality is that Reading is just a big collection of houses, and there are loads of those all over the place. One can make these statements with local knowledge but if one goes up without local knowledge one just sees a sprawling mess of very similar stuff. I have 800hrs, BTW.
Recently I did a few days of training out of an airfield N of London and despite flying around there for a few days I would not have been able to navigate visually reliably.
His heading was supposed to be 027 degrees for 72 miles
Flying a heading of 072 instead of flying one for 72 miles is a common human error, like 180 v. 080, etc, but it can't be the whole story because nobody would plan to fly a 72 mile leg on dead reckoningMaybe in the darkest Africa where you will get boiled up into soup if you land in the wrong place, but not just N of Heathrow.
The reality is that Reading is just a big collection of houses, and there are loads of those all over the place. One can make these statements with local knowledge but if one goes up without local knowledge one just sees a sprawling mess of very similar stuff. I have 800hrs, BTW.
Recently I did a few days of training out of an airfield N of London and despite flying around there for a few days I would not have been able to navigate visually reliably.
His heading was supposed to be 027 degrees for 72 miles
Flying a heading of 072 instead of flying one for 72 miles is a common human error, like 180 v. 080, etc, but it can't be the whole story because nobody would plan to fly a 72 mile leg on dead reckoning
Maybe in the darkest Africa where you will get boiled up into soup if you land in the wrong place, but not just N of Heathrow.
IO - those of us who trained and fly from WW should easily recognise reading. we cant go E due to LHR,so often go out that way, and the lakes east of reading are an inbound reporting point. with aldermaston, the staduim, greenham, M4 etc, if its your home base, you know it like the back of your hand.
agree with you about collections of houses etc, im not good at ID`ing towns i dont recognise.
agree with you about collections of houses etc, im not good at ID`ing towns i dont recognise.
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I have to put my hand up as someone who has flown a time or a distance instead of a heading.....on more than one occasion. Luckily I didn't infringe, and I quickly noticed the error, but it's a very easy thing to do.
I created my own VFR plog in Excel, and designed it in such a way that my headings and timings were highlighted, and this solved the problem. With the plogs I'd being using from my school, the mistake was too easy to make.
Making landmarks fit where you think you are, rather than recognising that they are wrong, is also something that is very easy to do.
I also agree with IO....a 72nm leg seems very long for DR.
I really think more emphasis should be placed on radio navigation when training. Not necessarily for navigation itself (no VOR-VOR type stuff), but used to confirm that you are where you think you are, at each of your waypoints.
dp
I created my own VFR plog in Excel, and designed it in such a way that my headings and timings were highlighted, and this solved the problem. With the plogs I'd being using from my school, the mistake was too easy to make.
Making landmarks fit where you think you are, rather than recognising that they are wrong, is also something that is very easy to do.
I also agree with IO....a 72nm leg seems very long for DR.
I really think more emphasis should be placed on radio navigation when training. Not necessarily for navigation itself (no VOR-VOR type stuff), but used to confirm that you are where you think you are, at each of your waypoints.
dp
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Some interesting responses here chaps. Sorry if my post [I]implied[I]the aircraft was from WW, thought I stated it tracked east from WW.
Not sure about the reliance on GPS - seems to be a fairly common argument nowadays. I have seen infringements before, where the pilot has used the fact that he is "having problems with the GPS" as an excuse. Would pilots maybe become too dependant on it to the detriment of their navigation skills?
DP raised some good points, particularly with regard to emphasis on nav training.
A17
Not sure about the reliance on GPS - seems to be a fairly common argument nowadays. I have seen infringements before, where the pilot has used the fact that he is "having problems with the GPS" as an excuse. Would pilots maybe become too dependant on it to the detriment of their navigation skills?
DP raised some good points, particularly with regard to emphasis on nav training.
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Confession Time from long ago
I trained and flew out of WW many years ago (early 80's) and still remember coming in from the west in the Entry corridor, maps etc put away, perfect trip, stunningly accurate navigation, pride in my skills, at which point one of my pax in the rear seat decided he wasn't feeling well (definately my flying, not long after I'd got my PPL) it only seemed to take a moment with my head down to find a bag from the pocket and pass it back. Looked up and couldn't see the airfield but knew (!!) it would appear so just carried on my heading duh and then realised nothing looked right, odd town, Heathrow very clear in the distance. At this point a couple of brain cells clicked and I realised I'd passed the airfield, a very sharp left turn and reciprocal track got me back in the WW circuit. I was fully expecting a call from LHR and did report what I'd done to the Instructor. Fortunately, nothing official happened, I'm sure I entered the zone but not by very much, but It was a nervous few days awaiting a CAA phone call. Stupid, but after that I never let my attention wander from flying the aircraft!
Mike Echo
I trained and flew out of WW many years ago (early 80's) and still remember coming in from the west in the Entry corridor, maps etc put away, perfect trip, stunningly accurate navigation, pride in my skills, at which point one of my pax in the rear seat decided he wasn't feeling well (definately my flying, not long after I'd got my PPL) it only seemed to take a moment with my head down to find a bag from the pocket and pass it back. Looked up and couldn't see the airfield but knew (!!) it would appear so just carried on my heading duh and then realised nothing looked right, odd town, Heathrow very clear in the distance. At this point a couple of brain cells clicked and I realised I'd passed the airfield, a very sharp left turn and reciprocal track got me back in the WW circuit. I was fully expecting a call from LHR and did report what I'd done to the Instructor. Fortunately, nothing official happened, I'm sure I entered the zone but not by very much, but It was a nervous few days awaiting a CAA phone call. Stupid, but after that I never let my attention wander from flying the aircraft!
Mike Echo
the QXC is a navigation excercise, so it should be done using DR, and this has to be the main tool in nav training. my point was that as the a/c approached the class A, the GPS would be bleeping or flashing MSG, or both. if the student knew how to operate the basics of the GPS, it should have alerted him to the impending infringement.
agree that thruxton/sywell is a long DR leg, and once past didcot/oxford, there are not many good ground features until you get to MK.
agree that thruxton/sywell is a long DR leg, and once past didcot/oxford, there are not many good ground features until you get to MK.
Regarding the mandatory GPS argument, what specifically would a GPS change about the planning and execution of a flight to remove these errors?
- A purple track would appear on his display from Thruxton to Sywell
- A white hatched aircraft track would be approx 45 deg to the right of this
- The aircraft symbol indicating his position would move ever further to the right of the trackline as he continued
- The cross error indication would show an increasing drift to the right
- The class A LTMA and CTR Airspace shown on the display would be getting closer. Eventually an alarm would show/sound.*
- The large town on his right wing would show on the GPS as Basingstoke instead of Newbury (which the GPS would show on his left)
*depending on user setting
etc etc. You get the drift (pardon the pun
)