"Ihave the runway in sight"

That was the call I made after shooting an approach down to 700OVC to an approach with a 620 MDA. Then I promptly pushed the power up, and went back into the clouds. You might be asking yourself why? Why would Mikey push the power back up and go missed when he had the runway made? Well, it was a non-towered field, and airport ops was on the runway, just parked there, looking at me. His radio was in his truck, but he didn't have it on. I felt like smacking him upside his head when he came over to apologize!

TURN ON YOUR RADIO IF YOU PLAN ON BEING ON THE RUNWAY DUDE!

bummer!!!! but atleast you handled it with ease

I'm sure you had a conversation with them afterwards, right?

@mshunter in Minot?

Yup. I reminded him politely to please keep his radio on while on the runway.

Had the same scenario years ago with my CFI. We were flying and the ground ops guy was out clearing the runways before the tower went active. Here we are coming in to land on short final and the guy pulled right out onto the runway without saying a word. Once we landed my CFI had his seatbelt off and door open before we even cleared the runway. He was a big guy too and never moved fast. I had never seen him exit the plane so quickly and I could hear the guy getting chewed out over the sound of the engine.

I guessing that you don't fly 121 based on that callout....?

Yeah it's really not appropriate for airport ops guys to be anywhere near the runway without making it very clear that's what they are doing on the radio. Most airport are pretty strict about this. I've seen several people chew out non-radio aircraft too, but being that a radio isn't required, I do have an issue with that.

Same scenario, except in a Citation, a snowblower, and the guy's boss was the one doing the chewing out. Though really, I don't think that was necessary. Us blasting over his head at 50' at full power was probably enough motivation to have that lesson sink in

You'd guess right. I have no desire to go 121 at this point in my career.

What he really meant is that you are a stupid idiot poopy head.

I thought this a thread about biggest lies when your a freight dog.

Wow, I don't even think you know what just happened.

Sen. Jim Inhofe would've landed anyway and blamed FAA for over-zealous enforcement.

I had a similar experience with a street sweeper. Crazy stuff.

Don't land on the street next time

He's not required to his radio on. happens. A good reminder to stay vigilant, just as you were. It is fun to talk to an Air Serv pilot about daily approaches to non-towered airports in the DRC, if you come across one of them ask. Farm animals/wild animals/small children/anything you can possibly imagine don't have radios either.

I've inadvertently come busting into the pattern NORDO before too (unfamiliar airplane, similarity between aerobatic box frequency and CTAF combined with a slightly higher than normal level of stupidity)...all involved cooperated and graduated.

Same in bush Alaska.

My closest call in aviation involved a ground vehicle not talking on the radio.

I'll have to save that one for over beers but it was very close and we wouldn't have had a chance.