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Blown tire

I blew a tire the other day while flying the 172 with a student. It was a stupid incident, putting my student into unnecessary risk. Some info:

Our circuit for RWY25 is a right-hand adapted rectangle pattern due to noise abatment and the last leg after base is not completely straight. We fly base towards a motorway and then along this motorway until we are on the extended centerline so we can turn to final. I usually call final when doing this last turn, some call final when first reaching the motorway.

So we call right downwind and right after calling right base a Bonanza joins the circuit. We reach the motorway and right before I do this last turn towards the extended centerline the Bonanza calls final. This irritates me as I think he has overtaken us and ask where he is. He tells me he’s got me in sight, so I know he’s behind me. This is where things start to go wrong. I feel pressured by the faster traffic behind me. Student is a bit too fast and floats longer than usual. I brake (a lot…) and while vacating the runway to the right the left tire bursts.

Luckily, nothing happened apart from a blown tire, a blocked runway exit and a dented FI ego.

What went wrong?

- I was committed to vacate the runway at the first exit to make room for the traffic behind me.
- Calling final at different points added to the confusion.
- I did not give my student the chance to learn by himself to use the whole runway.

But what got me thinking is, the tire could have blown while on the runway. This would have been much more serious.

At least I talked to my student about the whole thing while waiting for the ground crew, letting him realize my mistake. When number 1, he owns the runway. And if he needs the whole runway, he should use it.

LEBL, Spain

Alex wrote:

At least I talked to my student about the whole thing while waiting for the ground crew, letting him realize my mistake. When number 1, he owns the runway. And if he needs the whole runway, he should use it.

Yes. You should not let yourself get pressured by a trailing aircraft whether you are at a small GA field or a major airport. VFR the aircraft behind is responsible for his own separation (or if IFR the controller is by his sequencing), and if he misjudged the distance, he will need to do a go-around. At a busy airport you would need to try to occupy the runway the shortest time possible, which requires a little bit of planning.

I would also say the trailing aircraft put undue pressure on you by being so close in-trail.

Last Edited by Aviathor at 15 Feb 11:25
LFPT, LFPN

Alex, thanks for sharing this incident. EDLE is my homebase as well and I call final 25 when reaching the motorway (I wasn’t aware, that some do that when entering the very last short leg – but probably you are correct). I think you draw the right conclusions altogether and especially appreciate talking openly about that – as you know pilots don’t always do – myself included

EDLE

Also Bonanzas aren’t necessarily at high speed around the circuit or on final. The S-35 Bonanza that I used to fly was quite comfortable on final with full flaps at 65kt at light weights (in other words, the book final approach speed for a C172N at gross weight).

Andreas IOM

Some years ago I was in the same situation, called 2nm on a direct approach then another aircraft called the same. That aircraft was a PC12. I knew that he is faster so just told him to pass and become #1 while I did a 360 and repositioned to the 2nm point. All were happy and no pressure.

The speed of the Bonanza wasn’t my primary concern. Rather the confusion from the location reports and my fear that the traffic would be somewhere where I didn’t expect him to be or that he would be very close behind me.

The 360 wasn’t really an option. Being a right-hand pattern I only could do a left 360, getting me straight into the noise abatement area (and possibly an angry speech from the “Flugleiter”). I wouldn’t do a right 360 into the pattern anyways.

Ah… the best would have been a go around on our side. Would have shown better airmanship to my student….

Last Edited by Alex at 15 Feb 16:46
LEBL, Spain

Aviathor wrote:

if he misjudged the distance, he will need to do a go-around
I totally agree.
I have been in your #1 position, #2 was a PC12, he did a 360 waiting for me and my little PA28-140 to vacate (the taxiway was at the far end of the runway).
I have also been in your #2 position at my first FlyIn one week after getting my PPL, #1 was a very slow ultralight, I could not extend the downwind due to noise abatment and there was 1 or 2 aircrafts behind so no 360. I went around, 2nd landing very comfortable as the circuit was now empty. This was all due to another UL who cut the line directly to final at low level and did not talk at all in the radio, so the rest of us coming in an orderly manner got pushed together.

Alex wrote:

Calling final at different points added to the confusion
Where to call final should be easy to standardize on the VAC chart.

Last Edited by Arne at 15 Feb 17:40
ESMK, Sweden

Being a right-hand pattern I only could do a left 360, getting me straight into the noise abatement area (and possibly an angry speech from the “Flugleiter”)

In a potential mid-air situation, you need to do what is best, and the Flugleiter can go and screw himself.

This was all due to another UL who cut the line directly to final at low level and did not talk at all in the radio, so the rest of us coming in an orderly manner got pushed together.

With that going on, and it does go on everywhere, the usual rules go out of the window.

I have an active TCAS system and get frequent warnings of traffic which is

  • unknown to ATC
  • misreporting their position accidentally
  • deliberately lying about their position, to get an early “clear to land”
  • doing various other crazy stuff

Until you fly with such a system, “you” have no idea what kind of stuff goes on out there and how many near misses you had.

If I get a traffic warning of something close and I can’t see it, I get out of the circuit, with a rapid turning climb, in a direction where I can see well. Quite often I just go around, at circuit height or slightly above, flying over the runway. And tell ATC.

Even then, I still can’t see non-transponding traffic which in the UK, in the circuit, is maybe 30%.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

I have an active TCAS system

Unfortunately I do not have this luxury in the club aircraft, but I’m sure you are right about how many planes I have flown too close to.
The club organizing the FlyIn had a member helping on the radio. He probably saw the low plane first but got zero answer. Once I knew there was a low plane I looked out and did see him, as did at least a couple more planes approaching the field. I’m sure the guy served the standard excuse “squawk and radio are not mandatory in G-air”, but on a FlyIn day at what looked like peak arrival hour it’s borderline criminal.

ESMK, Sweden

This is interesting, I had the opposite situation the two days ago.

I was returning to EDLE from my first VFR night flight since obtaining the night rating a few weeks back. Upon approaching the pattern (this time, it was the left pattern for 07), I realized there was a bit of traffic around. One aircraft had just entered the runway and another one was doing circuit training and was on the upwind leg when I was about to enter downwind. In order to give some spacing to that latter aircraft, I did a 360 outside the pattern. I then joined downwind after the training aircraft and thought the spacing was fine. As I am not extremely used to flying this pattern at night yet (it doesn’t help that due to noise abatement, most night training is conducted at other airfields in the vicinity), I think I cut the downwind leg a bit short and joined base too quickly when I was getting worried I might bust the EDDL CTR which begins right behind the traffic pattern. Unfortunately, both navigational aids that might have helped me to more precision were “out of reach” (the iPad with Skydemon, which I had put away when entering the pattern, as I usually do when entering the pattern, and the Garmin GPS, which was configured for enroute and the display range etc. weren’t suitable for “precision pattern navigation”, if you like).

So (presumably the FI of) the training aircraft ahead of us, who were on final, figured we were quite close and offered a go-around on their behalf. I declined, because a) I thought the spacing was, although close, not too close for both of us to land safely and b) because I thought it should be me offering the go-around in case I figured it was too close. I offered a 360, which, based on Alex’s explanation further above, wasn’t such a great idea anyway. We both proceeded, when finally the Flugleiter asked the aicraft ahead to go around due to spacing and they did.

I liked how the crew ahead displayed good airmanship to think along and offer the go-around, although I was prepared to go-around from final, had the other aircraft not vacated the runway quickly enough for us to land.

Btw: I’m with europaxs, I’d never considered calling final only at the end of the motorway bit and I will in the future pay more attention to when other aircraft call their final there.

Hungriger Wolf (EDHF), Germany
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