ATSB Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan has issued a warning for aircraft heading to AUSFLY at Narromine this weekend.
Narromine is expected to host hundreds of pilots who will fly in for AUSFLY from all over Australia between 12 and 15 September ,making Narromine CTAF one of the busiest in the country during that period.
ATSB Chief Commissioner, Martin Dolan, said that safety around non-towered aerodromes is one of the ATSB’s top transport safety priorities.
“The ATSB often receives reports from pilots that another aircraft is flying too close to them in uncontrolled airspace,” he said.
“In recent years there have been over 60 occurrences involving mid-air collisions and ground collisions in and around non-towered aerodromes.
“Flying around non-towered aerodromes requires the same discipline as operations around towered airports. Pilots should use alerted ‘see and avoid’ techniques wherever possible by making effective use of their radio, while always maintaining an effective look out for other aircraft.”
Narromine CTAF will have a temporary Unicom for the weekend to advise pilots flying in, but the onus for see and avoid is still on the pilot.