runway encounter a lesson for me

I had a close call recently at my home field. I was at the hold short lines of runway 18 completing a run up. A gyro copter made a landing on 18. I was in the middle of my run up and didn't hear anything other than his full stop final approach call. After completing the run up I scanned for traffic and saw none. I figured the copter was taxing back to the hangers. Note that at my field one can not see another plane sitting at the opposite end 3700 feet away due to a slight hill in the middle. I cleared the approach end, the departure end and the runway itself. After my radio call, I taxied onto the runway and took off. RV's rotate quickly so the nose was obstructing my view as I climbed. At about 50 feet, I heard the gyrocopter call me asking if I had heard their radio calls. Due to the terrain of the hill in the middle, (I guess that's what caused it), I hadn't heard anything. He informed me they had to abort their takeoff because of me. I remained professional on the radio but inside I was boiling. They had just landed on 18 and obviously saw me sitting there. Radio calls to contact me with no response from me and they decide to takeoff 36 ANYWAY knowing full well I was down there and surly ready to go. After lots of self evaluation, I came to this conclusion. The only control I have over anything is my thinking and actions. I believe he was totally wrong for what they did but we'd all be just as dead anyway. I ASSUMED they were taxing to the hangers. Despite the fact I could not see them, I SHOULD have confirmed their position before entering the runway. We do things a thousand times and all it takes is one thing or one other aircraft to change up the whole scenario. Thankfully this time it ended well. Be careful out there!

Meant to put this under Safety. Mod. can move it. Sorry.

Paul 5r4 said:

SNIP At about 50 feet, I heard the gyrocopter call me asking if I had heard their radio calls. Due to the terrain of the hill in the middle, (I guess that's what caused it), I hadn't heard anything.

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Nonsense. There is no way this “hill” would have prevented you from hearing his transmission - assuming he made one.

Carl

Paul 5r4 said:

Note that at my field one can not see another plane sitting at the opposite end 3700 feet away due to a slight hill in the middle. I cleared the approach end, the departure end and the runway itself. .

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Wow, this is a tough one. Of course the FAA would say it was black and white: the aircraft already on the runway owns it. (Maybe he lost a wheel on landing and is now disabled on the runway.). But the reality is that an uncontrolled airport where you cannot see the whole runway (note the two lines from your post copied, above, are not self consistent) is an accident waiting to happen.
Even the commercial guys, operating with ATC, have had serious accidents/close calls when taking off when they couldn’t see the whole runway.

wawrzynskivp said:

... One of those recommended calls is the 'clear of active' call. ...

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Is that standard phraseology? I always use "[Airport] traffic, [Callsign], Runway 18 vacated at Taxiway Bravo" or something like that. For airports with multiple runways, which one is "the active?"

Radio Calls

To add onto the radio situation, some CFI's I believe bear a little responsibility. When I "discussed" a lack of radio calls with a local CFI, she informed me that she didn't want her students "distracted with radio calls and want them to focus solely on flying the plane"...(even when on the ground after a run up, she didn't want them using the radio before taxiing onto a runway before a take roll commenced)...To my way of thinking, this makes students less likely to use the radio later, if not somewhat "afraid" of it. Multitasking is part of flying, and I would rather students were exposed to all piloting skills....including a proper use of the radio. Just my 0.02.

rv8ch said:

Is that standard phraseology? I always use "[Airport] traffic, [Callsign], Runway 18 vacated at Taxiway Bravo" or something like that. For airports with multiple runways, which one is "the active?"

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The concept of an “active runway” does not apply to uncontrolled airports. It does apply to those with a controlling authority, like an operating control tower.

bkc3921 said:

To add onto the radio situation, some CFI's I believe bear a little responsibility. When I "discussed" a lack of radio calls with a local CFI, she informed me that she didn't want her students "distracted with radio calls and want them to focus solely on flying the plane"...(even when on the ground after a run up, she didn't want them using the radio before taxiing onto a runway before a take roll commenced)...To my way of thinking, this makes students less likely to use the radio later, if not somewhat "afraid" of it. Multitasking is part of flying, and I would rather students were exposed to all piloting skills....including a proper use of the radio. Just my 0.02.

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Which goes beyond use of the radio, but speaks to overall situational awareness. The moment we step foot onto the airfield as pilots, we are called on to be aware. We are all human, but we can choose to be as situationally aware at All times, or not...

To the OP, our runway has a similar hump, whereby you can't see the other side, but the radio still works. I too would have been surprised to see the landing traffic taking back off in the opposite direction, IF they had enough awareness to see other potential traffic on the ground (runup). But maybe they were working hard for the landing at that time, which is appropriate load shedding. I know there have been times when I wouldn't have noticed a 7' tall dude in a bright pink chicken suit walk left to right, right across the approach numbers... This is where the required crew concept really shines.

I can remember once, that I couldn't raise the guy that just landed (over the hump) on the radio, and chose to start down the parallel taxiway for a look-see. We met nose-to-nose on the taxiway . No problem, I did a heal pivot and all was good.

rv8ch said:

For airports with multiple runways, which one is "the active?"

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The one you just landed on.

Maybe they botched the landing and are going around for another attempt? Maybe they intended a touch-n-go, but the engine sounded funny and they decided to stop.

Point being, doesn't matter what the other airplane intends to do, plans change and might be unexpected. Don't take off until you're 100% sure you know the other airplane is not on the runway, and the take-off path is clear. Of all the near-miss events I'm aware of, each one had an element of losing or never having awareness of the other traffic.

Don't mean for this to sound harsh, yes it's a lesson learnt. We all learn many lessons the hard way. Thanks for sharing so the rest of us can discuss and learn the easy way. We don't live long enough to learn every lesson the hard way.

Carl
I agree. I notice that I usually hear aircraft at the opposite end calling clear of runway. I don't know but the copter said they'd transmitted a couple times and got not response so decided to take off. Obviously my radio was working because I heard them just after rotating.

The bottom line is when I takeoff, EVERYTHING becomes my responsibility. Doesn't matter if someone is doing something at the other end that just landed on this end. I failed big time and that is the point of this post. Moving forward I will know for sure what's going on with every aircraft that's not parked and tied down as well as those in the pattern.

Thanks for sharing Paul.
I usually read these safety events as there is always something to take away. The keyword for me here is

ASSUMED

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.

A very long time ago, starting on the line, my TC (Training Captain) told me to “never assume anything”. As many stated, we are all humans

Sound familiar ?

Wow, how timely.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/jetblue-flight-diverts-after-evasive-action-tail-strike/

Hump

I’m not fond hump runways especially when it has a huge slope that encourages folks to takeoff downhill and land uphill. Case in point, GA2 Peach State. Home to barnstormers grill. Great place to visit and eat but man, on a busy day coupled with pilots with attitudes, it’s hard to describe except to say you better have your situational awareness hat on way before you arrive and way before you crank up to leave.

airguy said:

The one you just landed on.

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Perhaps said in gest, but please don't assume that other traffic was on frequency when you landed and knows which runway you used.

bkc3921 said:

When I "discussed" a lack of radio calls with a local CFI, she informed me that she didn't want her students "distracted with radio calls and want them to focus solely on flying the plane"...(even when on the ground after a run up, she didn't want them using the radio before taxiing onto a runway before a take roll commenced)...

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I agree with you. When we're under stress, we tend to fall back on automatic habits. Instill in the student the habit of doing the right thing while the instructor is with them to protect them from mistakes and they'll do the right thing when they're on their own and feeling overwhelmed. It's not doing students or anyone else a service by not encouraging proper procedures from the beginning.

Announcement is not communication.

The gyro pilot clearly did something stupid. Flew over a plane sitting and then took off in the opposite direction.

I operate a several uncontrolled airports, some have no taxiways and back taxi is required. If it is calm, a turnaround would seem ok, except for that airplane clearly sitting at the other end. That was unmistakable.

Maybe it is not proper, but I talk to the other guy, call out to the other guy to get it straight. If he made any announcement there was a call sign. I have made calls and taken off only to see I had all set on the alternate radio. Probably never happened to anyone else. "XXXX traffic - Gyro dude- are you clear of the runway? "

Did both guys announce at the same time? OK, but still . . . . taking off in the opposite direction?? I think the only thing both pilots could have done was establish communication. Both made assumptions, but one was reasonable the other was very poor.

But I could be very wrong.

Edit: It appears many dictionaries define communication as talking,reporting- none (webster et.al.) mention confirmation of receipt of that message. I was taught many years ago that communication was not established until the report is acknowledged. This is a failing . . with an assumption being built into the definition of the word. My daughter stands at a deli counter and asks what kind of sandwichs they have. The counter guy says, it is on the wall behind be, what are you . . blind. Well, yes, she is. Notice that communication with ATC requires acknowledgment or the "communication" has not met the intent and you will get another question. Announcements are fine but when it really counts, as in the OP's case, communication is required.

Glad it worked out Paul, thanks for the posting, good on you!

rv8ch said:

Is that standard phraseology? I always use "[Airport] traffic, [Callsign], Runway 18 vacated at Taxiway Bravo" or something like that. For airports with multiple runways, which one is "the active?"

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Should be pretty standard. "Clear of the active" or "Vacating the RWY" etc. And then your call on finals should also give an indication of what you'll be doing. "Touch and Go" vs. "Full stop". So now you're double sure people will know your intention. Communication, communication, communication.

As a pilot/owner of both an RV and a Gyro - I agree that the "assumption" by the gyro pilot to turn around on an active runway and proceed to initiate a takeoff in the other direction should have required clear acknowledgement from the plane holding short they just flew over.

As a gyro pilot I am always aware of the fact that I am much slower than others and that I can land much shorter than others. I expect that the pilots around me aren't sure what I am going to do so I overcommunicate. I have made my share of mistakes, but in this case I would probably would have made the same assumption as the OP.

Thanks for sharing - good reminders to be very careful.

MGR1977 said:

Should be pretty standard. "Clear of the active" or "Vacating the RWY" etc. And then your call on finals should also give an indication of what you'll be doing. "Touch and Go" vs. "Full stop". So now you're double sure people will know your intention. Communication, communication, communication.

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Only if they hear you - - how do you know?

I landed at a new to me airport this week that has a similar hump in the middle. Having recently read this thread I was extra cautious. I appreciate others sharing their experiences.

reread

I just reread this post again.

Final takeaway for me: He was wrong but I was WRONGER! With that dang word
assume. We all know how that turns out.

I try to read and really understand posts regarding safety issues. I take away at least something from each and every experience that others have had. They are carefully tucked away somewhere in my brain and when a situation comes up a bell rings. No need to reinvent the wheel. I'll take your words/experience for it thank you.

So please keep posting things that you've learned from that just might save the day for someone who's unknowingly about to encounter the same circumstances. If that pilot has read your story... he/she's already has an ace in the hole to play!