Coral Springs FL, Alert area Mid-Air

[bLizZuE]

Originally Posted by CameronF

Wow that is horrible


A little off topic here, but bLizZuE is your signature of Oahu, Hawaii?

Yea there are a few in there. It randomly changes every time it loads.

[BCTAv8r]

The past month or so hasn't been very good around here. From what I remember there was the Kemper Aviation incident by LNA, then the gentleman that flew out of BCT and crashed not too far North, and now this. Not very comforting for someone just starting out.

The times that I've gone up I've had a hard time finding traffic. That is something I really want to work on.

[RPJ]

Do people in this particular practice area communicate over freq most of the time?

[bLizZuE]

The most common practice area freq in the area is what FSI/FIT/ERAU use. 123.3

[FiveO]

Here is the latest according to the Maimi Herald. It was a Cessna 150 and the twin Piper. The Piper was going into PMP and was cleared to descend to 2000 and about the be handed off to PMP tower. The 150 was out of LNA with one student pilot on board who was just out in the practice area. The Piper obviously being a low wing and the Cessna being a high wing didnt even see eachother. It said the controller tried to call out the traffic but it was too late. Once again... this was from the media, not from me.

Originally Posted by RPJ

Do people in this particular practice area communicate over freq most of the time?

I have always used 123.45 when out there. I find that a lot of people are opening flight plans or closing them out there, causing them to be on another freq.

[Murdoughnut]

Wow, now that's even scarier if the guy was on an IFR flight plan. I usually get VFR advisory service when I go in there - if that's true, I wonder if the investigation will focus on the controlling agencies.

[FiveO]

Everyone who is FLIR equiped was out there seeing if they could pick up anyone in the sawgrass. Sadly, nothing yet.

[taseal]

Originally Posted by bLizZuE

The most common practice area freq in the area is what FSI/FIT/ERAU use. 123.3

we use 123.45 actually there... interesting you say 123.3

[BillH]

That sucks, hits close to home, I fly out of TMB, used the alert area that is just west of X51 in the Miami Area. Did my private pilot there and had at least one C152 fly 200ft over the top of my cessna by the time I saw him. Now I will be instructing in that same alert area and I've been told it has only gotten worse. We use 123.3 for the alert area.

[wrxpilot]

Originally Posted by Hernandezcfi

Terrible thing to watch unfold so close. The planes looked like confetti falling. For the first minute I even refused to believe it was an aircraft until I saw some numbers and a smoking engine.

Is your first name Mel?

Definitely some sad news. The 152 was from a flight school next to ours.

[wrxpilot]

Originally Posted by RPJ

Do people in this particular practice area communicate over freq most of the time?

A lot of people do, but there's usually a few that don't. I will always at least monitor it. Over by bend in the sawgrass people use 123.45, and just north of there from BCT to LNA people use 122.75. The unfortunate part is that often times people out of the area are talking so much on the freq that you just end up turning the radio down.

It definitely gets a little busy out there sometimes, which is why you always have to clear the area very well for traffic. Still, there are a lot of times when you see somebody doing something stupid.

[FiveO]

Originally Posted by wrxpilot

Definitely some sad news. The 152 was from a flight school next to ours.

Is it the same flight school that lost a plane and 2 people about 2 months ago from the forced landing at night?

Originally Posted by wrxpilot

The unfortunate part is that often times people out of the area are talking so much on the freq that you just end up turning the radio down.

It definitely gets a little busy out there sometimes, which is why you always have to clear the area very well for traffic. Still, there are a lot of times when you see somebody doing something stupid.

That's funny you say that. Those were my exact thoughts. It's hard to keep track of someone who is about to do a spin when you are stuck hearing Chuck talking to Frank about the 5.0 Mustang and how she is running.

There have been many times when I have just left to go play around in the pattern because there are so many people in the practice area. Not to long ago I heard 2 planes doing turns about a point off of the tower at the end of Loxahatchee Rd. They were doing them what seemed to be 500ft higher than one another. I was just waiting for disaster to happen.

I always try to get in touch with PMP tower as early as possible when heading back so I can at least be on someone's radar.

[wrxpilot]

Originally Posted by FiveO

Is it the same flight school that lost a plane and 2 people about 2 months ago from the forced landing at night?

Unfortunately, yes it is the same school.

[FiveO]

Originally Posted by wrxpilot

Unfortunately, yes it is the same school.

Damn.

[Hernandezcfi]

Originally Posted by wrxpilot

Is your first name Mel?

Definitely some sad news. The 152 was from a flight school next to ours.

No, it's Ben but there is a Mel at the flight school I used to work for. I still give Prog. checks to some students there which is what I was doing when I observed the wreck.

[Hernandezcfi]

[Definitely some sad news. The 152 was from a flight school next to ours.[/quote]


What school is that?

[bLizZuE]

Originally Posted by taseal

we use 123.45 actually there... interesting you say 123.3

I think the lower Miami area alert areas use 123.3

[Hernandezcfi]

The Aeronautical Information Manual, Section 4-1-11 [July 20, 1995] designates 122.75 mHz and 122.85 mHz for air-to-air communications and for use by private airports that are not open to the public; 123.025 mHz is designated for helicopter air-to-air communications. In addition, two frequencies, 123.3 mHz and 123.5 mHz, are reserved for aviation instruction, gliders, and hot air balloons. Pilots should not use other seemingly "unused" frequencies for chat lines because they may be interfering with important ATC communications, even though they do not hear anyone "on the line."

For years, the locals have used 123.45 (otherwise known as the fingers)but there is no official frequency designated for use in 291A (Coral Springs)

I monitor "the fingers" but most of the time I don't bother to announce my position unless I see someone close. I use my technologically advanced equipment I had installed when I came off the assembly line called EyeCAS.

[wrxpilot]

Originally Posted by Hernandezcfi

[Definitely some sad news. The 152 was from a flight school next to ours.

What school is that?[/quote]

The 152 (or maybe 150?) was from Kemper. I teach at Palm Beach Flight Training.

[Hernandezcfi]

I have always told students not to bother going to the practice area on their own. Aside from being a cluster%#@! of traffic, they need someone there to save their hide if they screw up!

[Crockrocket94]

Wow, I saw that on the news.

Rough stuff, Im sorry for any family and friends.


Makes me really think, i fly down that way on a regular basis.

[SmoothLanderJ]

It's always busy as hell down there. I remember coming close to some airplanes in that area when I first stated doing cross countries....and I was on flight following!

Pilots everywhere need to make sure to keep a good scan for going even if they are talking to approach. It sucks to see stuff like that.

[FiveO]

They found one body and remains of the other one. The link below includes video of them starting to piece together the planes. This was a scary stat...

Saturday's crash is the seventh propeller plane accident this year in South Florida, more than doubling the number last year. It was the fourth midair collision of small planes over South Florida, one of the nation's busiest areas for general aviation flights, since 2000.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...a_tab01_layout

[Skillet]

Originally Posted by wrxpilot

What school is that?

The 152 (or maybe 150?) was from Kemper. I teach at Palm Beach Flight Training.

Kemper was the school where I first started flying and I did my 1st solo at LNA. I also worked on the line there at Florida Airmotive. That airport was a great place but was extremely busy. I counted 12 airplanes in the pattern one time for rwy 15 extending the downwind well into PBI airspace. The airspace down there was just as busy and it's obviously busier now. RIP to the aviators and everyone fly safe.

Mark

[bLizZuE]

I don't mean to dredge up an old topic, but I found this today, and thought it to be of interest.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/mplayer/travel/47286

It mentions a plane circling, which happens to be the JC member who I talked to about the incident at the time.