NASA · Aviation Safety Reporting System
C172 flight Instructor with student reported departing traffic on runway forced a go around. The departing traffic turned toward the Instructor causing a NMAC and requiring evasive action.
What is ASRS?
The Aviation Safety Reporting System is NASA's voluntary, confidential, non- punitive incident-reporting system, established 1976. Pilots, controllers, dispatchers, and maintenance technicians file reports describing safety- relevant events. NASA de-identifies every report before adding it to the public database. Reports are not investigated by NASA, the FAA, or the NTSB — they represent the reporter's perspective.
Pilot narrative
Verbatim from the de-identified NASA record. First-person account by the
reporter. NASA strips identifying details (names, company, specific time);
anonymization placeholders are ZZZ,
X, Y.
Me and my student were doing pattern work at our home airport (ZZZ). While on a left downwind for runway XX, another Ce172 announces on the CTAF that they are on a 3 mile final for the RNAV XX. We decide to extend our downwind slightly to allow for spacing between us and the RNAV traffic, and we announce our intentions on CTAF. Shortly after turning final, and before the RNAV traffic was clear of the runway, a Ce150 [Aircraft Y] announces on CTAF that they are departing runway XX, and planning to depart to the west. Aircraft Y lines up on the runway, but has to wait approximately 15 seconds for the RNAV traffic to clear the runway. This moves the situation from a tight squeeze between departing and arriving traffic, to a runway incursion. I recognize this, and tell my student to conduct the go around, and to side step to the right so that we have lateral separation between us and the departing traffic. While the student is doing this, I announce on the CTAF that we are going around and side stepping to the right. I then take control of the aircraft, and tell my student that we are going to stay below or level, and to the right of the departing aircraft, as to not enter its blind spot. I know that many pilots depart ZZZ to the west using a right crosswind turn, so I ask the departing aircraft, using its callsign, if they are going to do this. I receive no response. I explain to my student that if the departing traffic decides to make a right crosswind departure to the west while we are side stepped to the right, it would likely cause a collision or near miss. As soon as I finish explaining this, the departing traffic begins a right crosswind departure to the west without making a radio call. At this point, I am level with the departing aircraft, so I add full power and climb above, missing by about ~100ft vertically and ~100ft horizontally. Both aircraft proceeded normally after the near miss. I think the lack of communication between our two aircraft was a primary cause of the near miss. We should have been more persistent in our questioning of the other aircraft, and should have announced a second time where we are. The other aircraft could have listened to use when we announced our intentions the first time, and could have answered our question when we asked if they would be turning right. I also believe the decision on the part of the other aircraft to force a go around, and then to make a right crosswind departure from the pattern without making a radio call is another major factor. I don't believe any human factors affected anyone in our plane, I don't know about the other.
NASA classification — Anomalies
- Conflict
- Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural
NASA classification — Assessments
- Contributing Factors / Situations
- Airspace Structure · Human Factors
- Primary Problem
- Human Factors
ASRS reports are voluntarily submitted, de-identified by NASA, and represent the reporter's perspective. The presence of reports on a topic cannot be used to infer prevalence in the National Airspace System. The authoritative source is the NASA ASRS Database Online at asrs.arc.nasa.gov ↗.