Run Over @ 20,000'

[Red Air Rambo]

I felt so bad at the autopilot thread being sidetracked that I thought I would start a new thread dedicated to this danger. Please post how many times this has happened to you (sideswipes count)! Also trying to determine who the worst offenders are so we can start tracking them and issue notams!

[rick bell]

Originally Posted by Red Air Rambo

I felt so bad at the autopilot thread being sidetracked that I thought I would start a new thread dedicated to this danger. Please post how many times this has happened to you (sideswipes count)! Also trying to determine who the worst offenders are so we can start tracking them and issue notams!

ok track me

[Red Air Rambo]

Originally Posted by rick bell

ok track me

don't have too...not working for NORAD anymore!

[Red Air Rambo]

All kidding aside, Mid-airs can happen at any altitude...I almost had one with a couple F-15E's in Eastern Turkey rejoining on the same tanker at 21,000 (you'd think with 8 eyeballs between the 2 of them somebody would be looking at something besides the tanker) and I've also almost had one with a crop duster at 100' agl on a lowlevel. I've had numerous close calls in restricted areas and MOA's where people just fly through them VFR not talking to anybody. I always fly IFR or VFR flight following but there are people out there that fly without talking or squawking so keep your head on a swivel!

[WebMaster]

One was kind of funny, one was interesting, 2x no fun.

[sns3guppy]

I've overtaken a lot of traffic at higher altitudes, but haven't been run over up there. Converging traffic can sometimes be an issue, but in the flight levels, traffic is more established, and most equipment is TCAS equipped and under positive radar control. Most aircraft are crewed by trained and experienced pilots/crews, too.

Around FL180, different hazards exist. The weather is among them. A lot of your short-range traffic, as well as slower, smaller traffic is found just above or below the transition level at FL180 (in the Continental US). This can include turbojet, turboprop, and piston equipment. A lot of aircraft hang out close to the transition level, either just above or below it; 20,000' is an altitude where nearly everything else that's not hanging out at FL200 will be climbing or descending at high speeds through FL200.

Most of my close calls with respect to traffic have been at much lower altitudes, including a recent TCAS resolution advisory at 7,000' near Newark, earlier this year.

In Iraq, I averaged three near-misses nightly. In my opinion, that's way too much. I haven't experienced nearly that number in Afghanistan, but the conflict potential is very much there.

That said, I'm not flying a skymaster in Afghanistan, either. My single biggest concern in flying has always been the potential to have a traffic conflict with a light airplane on a VFR weekend, especially near high-traffic areas. Sometimes there's just no telling.