Lancaster Mid-Air collision during Young Eagles Day

[Eclipse]

ORD is the big boy on the block around here, so most of the airfields I ever use are within or influenced by the Class B.

On unit visits I occasionally get into an uncontrolled local municipal airport, but the planes I use regularly are
all hangared at larger controlled fields.

It is cool, though, to do that radio activation of landing lights on the rural fields.

[Panzerbjorn]

When my aircraft was at a controlled airport, the percentage of operations with/out control were biased towards the controlled side, but if I left the home field out of the equation the percentage was probably 10% controlled.

Most folks forget that Class D fields don't have radar control, they rely on pilot position reports and the Mark 1 eyeball of the controller...

Not ALWAYS true.  There are Class D airports that have radar.  Class D airports with a TRSA most certainly have radar.  Several Class D airports in the Chicago area, such as KDPA, KARR, and KPWK have radar, for example.

[NIN]

That's uncontrolled airspace, right?

I always find it amazing how quickly aircraft converge in "empty" air.  One second there's nothing there,
the next you're changing your shorts.

The pattern, especially the base-to-final area, becomes a really bad place because everybody is headed to one patch of ground in approximately the same glide slope, meaning you're all going to be occupying one "lane" at certain distances from the runway (ie. if you take a long downwind and are rolling in on a two mile final, you're at more or less the same altitude as they guy who is on a 2 mile straight in...).  It gets wicked crowded if your SA is low or people aren't talking.

There was a college aviation program at a nearby airport that was right-traffic (due to terrain terrain & layout) when of course most of the rest of the world is left-traffic.  It wasn't a big deal because it was towered, but the bigger problem was when the students would solo and then start flying elsewhere solo for practice.  One of the other multi-runway non-towered airports about 20 miles away was a popular destination. There were many close calls, and at least one actual accident where a student pilot entered final from right-traffic while there was left-traffic and they collided.

[Panzerbjorn]

Many things ran through my mind when I saw this, not the least of which was the statistical probability
this could involve CAP members.

Yes, it could happen.  But I certainly hope that it would be understood that the risk is minimal and easily mitigated.  My own personal fear is that like any item reported on the news, people will think the sky is falling and regulate activities like this into non-existence.

[Panzerbjorn]

That's uncontrolled airspace, right?

I always find it amazing how quickly aircraft converge in "empty" air.  One second there's nothing there,
the next you're changing your shorts.

It also freaks me out on the rare occasion that we land without a tower - you get used to that in an urban area.

The preliminary report still says "unknown circumstances".

We have an airport near us, Triangle North Regional KLHZ, that we conduct our glider and powered o-flights at twice a month.  It can get really busy there with gliders, our aircraft, skydivers, and other regular traffic converging on one spot AND have a right-hand traffic pattern when one runway is active and a left-hand traffic pattern when the opposite runway is active.  As long as you pay attention, talk and listen on the radio, and maintain situational awareness, it's perfectly safe.  I personally enforce a sterile cockpit environment when we're flying into that airport for that reason.  There are always risks, but you do everything possible to mitigate them.

Non-towered airports are actually more ideal for o-riders than towered airports simply to save time and gas getting in and out of the airport, especially when you're trying to get 30 or 40 cadets flown in a day.  It may not necessarily be an issue at the less busy towered airports, but at Class C towered airports, it become impractical.  But theres nothing to freak out about at non-towered airports.  There are rules you follow to get into that airport, and the pilot is responsible for knowing all the applicable rules (pattern altitude, left-hand or right-hand pattern, etc.) for that airport.  It's just part of the game.

I'll be looking forward to seeing that NTSB report and the Lessons Learned that follow it.