This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
In coordination with my flight instructor I was on a solo cross country to White County Airport (KMCX) in Monticello, Indiana.
While departing from KMCX on upwind, another aircraft (soon to be a conflict aircraft) entered the pattern at a non-standard entry or location. Their location was unclear.
At this time, there was myself, a second aircraft, and the conflict aircraft. The location of the conflict aircraft was unclear. They were either on a widened downwind or extended upwind or extended downwind.
To further complicate the issue, the CTAF being used is on the same frequency as several other airports, and the radio congestion was heavy between the different airports and aircraft.
I was safely maneuvering my aircraft in the appropriate standard pattern operation and diligently looking for the conflict aircraft that was in the unclear location. The conflict aircraft appeared to have me in sight, however they did not adjust their flight path to stay clear of myself.
Suddenly, the conflict aircraft came very close to my aircraft. I maneuvered my aircraft to avoid. Inadvertently we came within a couple of hundred feet of each other. After this I returned to the home airport.
I believe that this situation would not have happened if the other aircraft, which was entering in the non-standard location, should have appropriately exercised the requirement to see and avoid. If they could not maintain a safe distance, then they should not have entered the pattern.
If CTAF frequencies were specific to an individual airport and not commonly used by adjacent airports, then this would’ve greatly enhanced situational awareness.
Primary Problem: Human Factors
ACN: 2147027
