By Howard Deevers
In 1960 there was a Movie called THE CROWDED SKY, packed with well-known actors of that time. The film had very few flying scenes, and it was mostly a “soap opera” about the characters the actors portrayed. Being interested in aviation, though, I did see the film. Even though I had no ratings or training at the time, I knew enough to understand that this was just a drama with very little realism. In 1960 there were fewer airplanes in the sky than there are today, and modern Air Traffic Control was just evolving. In the story, a Navy jet collides with a passenger airliner.
In real life, two airliners did collide over the Grand Canyon in June of 1956. A TWA Super Constellation and a United DC7 collided, destroying both airplanes and killing 128 people: the very first airline crash to claim over 100 people. Both planes had departed from Los Angeles and were enroute to New York. Air Traffic Control of the time consisted more about position reports than radar contacts. That shocking event caused a demand from the public that led to total radar control across the country. Radar was available in use at major hubs, but did not display the enroute parts of the country. GPS did not exist, and ADS-B was not even in the thought process at that time.
From 1956 on, any aircraft collision reported on the news ended with the reporters saying, “It's a crowded sky,” before the end of the broadcast. You may still hear that on the news today, but with a bit more justification than in 1956-60. When I started flying lessons, I asked my instructor about “The Crowded Sky.” His response was: “If you think there is a crowded sky, step out into your back yard and look up. Unless you live very near a busy airport, you will not see airplanes like you do cars on the road in front of your house. “
This year has had some shocking aviation accidents. The collision between a military helicopter and an airliner on final at Washington DC gave me a flash backs to the 1960 movie referred to above. Then two training airplanes collided at Marana Airport, and that made news all over the country. Washington DC has the most controlled airspace in the country. Marana has no control tower, but communications are over a CTAF and planes are responsible for separating themselves. As we have seen, things can go wrong in either case. So, is it a crowded sky?
In the case of the TWA-United collision over the Grand Canyon, one of the planes was making a slow circle over the Canyon so that passengers could see the Canyon from the air. There were only two airplanes in that area, and they collided. Can you even imagine an airliner with passengers making a site-seeing circle today? Not likely. There is no doubt that Radar, GPS, ADS-B, and traffic warning (TCAS) systems have made both cross country and approach to landing accidents less likely. In Class A airspace (18000 to 60000 feet) all aircraft are required to be in positive ATC control.
We also have the Aviation Safety Reporting System, called the NASA Report. The local news reported that there were 7 near misses at Marana reported by the NASA reports since 2017. When I heard that I thought that the 7 were only those that were reported. There were probably more that were never reported. Not all pilots know about the NASA report or pay any attention to it. If you think that IT'S A CROWDED SKY, then you should be filing NASA reports on every incident. It is free, and your personal information will never be revealed, and we can all learn from it.
There is other technology we can use as well as GPS. Flight tracking can be nice to have if I want to know where the flight my family is coming into Tucson is located at any given moment. A local weather forecaster in Pittsburgh was fond of flashing a picture of the lower 48 states covered with little airplanes and telling us there are XXXX number of airplanes in the sky at that moment. If you looked at that flat map, it looked like the sky was packed and no more airplanes could get into the sky. But if you stepped outside and looked up, you had to wonder, where are all of those airplanes?
TIF ADS-B in, displayed on my iPad in my lap while I am flying, displays airplanes in a little triangle form with altitude next to it. I am not concerned about those that are flying right over me at 25000 feet or higher above me. I am happy to know about those that are at my altitude, and less than 2 miles from me, even if I never spot them. Does 2 miles sound like a “Crowded Sky?” It could be if you are both planning to do the same thing at the same time.
With all the technology that we have, there is still one flight rule that has never changed: the Pilot in Command has the responsibility to See and Avoid other traffic. And another rule of Physics that I learned in High School is “Two bodies cannot occupy the same spot at the same time.” When you get to that stage in flight, then it IS a crowded sky.
To learn more about aviation safety come to a Safety Seminar sponsored by your ARIZONA PILOTS ASSOCIATION and the FAASTeam. Check the website for the location and times of a seminar near you. And “Don't forget to bring your wingman.”