As airspace complexity increases, so does the potential for pilot deviations. Greater emphasis on pilot education and vigilance has enjoyed mixed success. TCA incursions, for example, dropped from 580 in 1988 to 414 in 1989, rose to 530 in 1990, and then dropped to 308 in 1991. So while the overall trend is in the right direction (if indeed it is a trend), it's anything but consistent.
At the same time, growing reliance by a more sophisticated pilot community on navigational devices such as RNAV, loran, and GPS may be giving rise to another disturbing trend: loss of positional awareness.
Half of all the enforcement actions undertaken by the Baltimore Flight Standards District Office in 1991, to use but one example, involved pilot deviations — read "unauthorized flight" — into the prohibited area over the Presidential retreat at Camp David (P-40) and its overlying restricted area (R-4009), the restricted areas associated with the Aberdeen Proving Grounds (R-4001 A and B), and the new Baltimore TCA.
Deviations in P-40 rose from seven in 1989 to 25 in 1991. Deviations in the three restricted areas rose from five in 1989 to 23 in 1991. In its first year of operation, the Baltimore TCA logged 13 deviations. And while 24 of the pilots who incurred enforcement action were not based in this district, the other 29 were local.
Analyzing the P-40 deviations, the FAA found that none involved student pilots. The miscreants were, by and large, experienced, instrument-rated pilots flying well-equipped airplanes. Loss of positional awareness — perhaps brought about by pilot complacency, fixation on one aspect of the flight to the exclusion of others, or work load — is a more likely culprit in such cases than an outright lack of aeronautical knowledge. Still, a brief review of the different kinds of special-use airspace (SUA) could serve as a useful prologue to some operational tips for steering clear of sensitive areas.
The most sensitive, obviously, are prohibited areas, in which flight is...well...prohibited, usually because of security or other factors "associated with the national welfare." While prohibited areas are generally noted on aeronautical charts, a temporary flight restriction, disseminated by notam, may impose a prohibited area anytime, any place. When President Bush attended opening day at Baltimore's new baseball stadium earlier this year, a temporary flight restriction led to a deviation by a sightseeing pilot who had failed to check local notams.
Restricted areas generally involve unusual, often invisible hazards to aircraft. These can include artillery fire, aerial gunnery, and guided missiles. Penetration of an active restricted area without authorization is not only illegal, it may be extremely dangerous. For IFR flights, if the area is not active and has been released to FAA authority, ATC will allow a flight to use the airspace without issuing a specific clearance (and VFR flights may proceed through the area at will). If the area is "hot," your ATC clearance will keep you out of the restricted area.
Here's an example of a potential trap involving a restricted area: Victor 268 passes through R-4009, which overlies Camp David. Some VFR pilots have assumed that the existence of the airway automatically allows flight along that route at any altitude at any time. Wrong. The minimum enroute altitude of V268 in that area is 5,000 feet msl. That's also the floor of R-4009. So a VFR pilot flying below the MEA, which he cannot determine from the sectional or terminal area chart, as well as an IFR pilot who allows his altitude to deviate below the MEA by even 1 foot, will find himself in P-40. Which is not where you want to find yourself.
Warning areas are very much like restricted areas, but because they exist in international airspace, beyond the "three-mile limit" from our borders, the FAA has no jurisdiction to restrict activity there.
Military operations areas are established to separate military training activities from civilian IFR traffic. IFR flights may be cleared through active MOAs if ATC can provide separation, otherwise they will be rerouted. VFR pilots should be extremely cautious about entering MOAs because the military pilots operating there are exempt from the rules prohibiting acrobatic flight within federal airways and control zones. Contact a flight service station within 100 nm of an MOA to find out if it is to be active, then contact the controlling agency before actually entering an active MOA.
Alert areas have a high volume of military training flights or unusual aerial activity. The main difference between an alert area and an MOA is that all pilots in an alert area are bound by the Federal Aviation Regulations and are equally responsible for collision avoidance. Nonetheless, the key here is to remain vigilant.
Prohibited, restricted, warning, military operations, and alert areas are depicted on visual charts and low-altitude enroute charts. Information about them — including number, name, altitudes, times of use, and controlling agency — is listed on the SUA panel on visual charts and adjacent to the airspace in question on enroute charts.
One type of SUA is not noted on charts: controlled firing areas. This is because activity in a controlled firing area is suspended immediately when spotter aircraft, radar, or ground lookouts believe an aircraft is approaching the area.
Pilots should also be vigilant in the vicinity of military training routes. MTRs are home to low-level, high-speed military flights that may be maneuvering to practice combat tactics. In general, MTRs at and below 1,500 feet agl are flown under VFR and are identified by four-digit numbers, while higher MTRs are flown IFR and are identified by three-digit numbers. Instrument routes are prefixed with IR; visual routes, with VR. Military aircraft on MTRs are exempt from the 250-knot speed restriction. Contact an FSS within 100 nm of a particular MTR to get the latest information on activities there.
Earlier, we mentioned temporary flight restrictions. The regulations that affect pilot action in regard to TFRs are FAR 91.137 through 143, and they are worth reviewing. Scores of events, from a nuclear accident to a Presidential golf junket to a space shuttle launch, can cause the issuance of a TFR notam. The Boston Marathon and the America's Cup yacht races were recent TFR subjects. The requirements of each TFR are different, so it is essential to request TFR notams from a local FSS when you get your weather briefing, just to be sure you have all available information.
Finally, remember the requirements of TCAs and ARSAs. Among other things described in the FARs and the Airman's Information Manual, the former requires a clearance; the latter, the establishment of two-way radio communications.
Airspace busts are not the only pilot deviations that might lead to an enforcement action. While more than half the deviations registered by the Baltimore FSDO in 1991 involved airspace, almost one third involved a deviation from an ATC clearance, and another 14 percent involved deviations on the surface of an airport.
As we have seen from our review of SUA, IFR flights are generally better protected from deviations than VFR flights: If an area is hot, you won't be cleared to enter it unless separation can be assured. For VFR pilots, however (particularly instrument-rated pilots flying under VFR), a few operational procedures will considerably improve your chances of steering clear of SUA.
First, make sure you carry and use current sectional and terminal control area charts. Airspace does change, and current charts, backed up by careful review of the appropriate Airport/Facility Directory and notams, are essential to stay abreast of those changes.
Remember the lessons learned during student pilot days. Draw a course line on your chart. Note landmarks that can be used for orientation. These steps are particularly important if you're planning to fly direct using loran, RNAV, or GPS.
Wide-area navigation capability can be a great work-load reducer, but don't allow the black boxes to take over completely from the gray matter. If your equipment has an airspace alert function, use it, but don't rely on it to the exclusion of eyeballs and other avionics. Make sure your database is current as well as your charts, so you don't miss a recent airspace change.
Use VOR and ADF to back up your pilotage. Perform VOR accuracy checks at regular intervals (the IFR requirement for a check every 30 days is a good guideline), and don't forget that even an "IFR-legal" receiver could be off by as much as 6 degrees. That could be too much in an area like Camp David, where ground references can be hard to spot, even for pilots used to the region.
Know where you are at all times. Conversations with flight instructors and designated examiners reveal that many pilots, once they've passed the private pilot check ride, begin to neglect their navigational responsibilities. It's not enough to know where special-use or controlled airspace is if you don't know where you are in relation to it. A VFR flight accepting a vector from ATC should remain alert for nearby SUA; that responsibility, just like the responsibility of remaining in VFR weather conditions, remains with the pilot.
If you need help, use the radio. FSS specialists and center and approach radar controllers are trained to assist you by providing airspace alerts and guidance in circumnavigating sensitive airspace, but they can't help unless you talk to them. This is another benefit of availing yourself of flight following services.
It's true that remedial training is replacing enforcement action in many pilot deviation cases. Even the most sympathetic FSDO inspector, however, may have a hard time keeping you out of trouble if you run afoul of airspace such as P-40. And some SUA, while not illegal to fly in, can pose severe hazards to the safety of your airplane and passengers.
Maintaining positional awareness is one of the most challenging responsibilities pilots face. And positional awareness is one of the first qualities that fall victim to complacency, fixation, and high work load. That's one reason that being mentally ahead of the airplane is so important.
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