Absolutely, Adam. Thank you for the invitation to reflect further. I’ve thought about it a lot, and all of the following are things I now understand since the incident that I did not fully understand before:
Starting broad, I was reminded that flying is very serious business, and you can never let your guard down when you’re flying. You think you know this until something scary happens, and then it really sets in. I choked up when I saw my wife that afternoon, realizing just how easily I could’ve never seen her again. Any time you go up there you are putting yourself in a possible life-or-death situation, and you must treat your responsibility as a pilot as if those dangers are a real possibility. You need to anticipate problems before they become catastrophes; you can’t just sit back and hope that as long as you follow procedures nothing bad will happen.
More specifically, I learned to respect the dangers presented by uncontrolled airports. You have multiple airplanes converging at the same altitude and pattern locations, with no outside guidance to help monitor their position relative to one another. Many of these airports are used for training purposes, and therefore may involve student pilots (like myself), who have not yet learned all of the skills required for safe operations at such fields. Many of these airfields are also generally less busy, and pilots may be less inclined to worry about the dangers presented by high traffic volume. It’s possible I was the only non-local airplane to fly into that field all week, and perhaps the other airplane was just not used to seeing visitors in the pattern.
I learned you can never be too vigilant with your scanning, and that the responsibility to “see-and-avoid” is incredibly important for the VFR pilot. I should have assumed that other planes might be entering the pattern, considered the different pattern entries that different airplanes might be using for the runway that was favored by the winds, and checked over and over for airplanes that might be converging on those entry points. I should also remember that airplanes at a similar altitude can be difficult to spot (and I should get some non-polarized sunglasses to ensure that I see the reflections of other airplanes clearly).
I learned the importance of clear communication, especially on the CTAF frequency. Had the other aircraft been making calls, I would like to think I would’ve been able to avoid a near-miss. If I heard them coming but didn’t see them, I would’ve departed the pattern and done some 360s away from the airport until I could verify their location and enter the pattern safely based on their position. On the leg before the incident leg, I actually had a situation where myself and another airplane made 10 mile out calls at about the same time, and we basically had a conversation about who was where and what we were going to do to avoid each other. It was a good reminder that the most important thing on the radio is clarity of communication, and even though we deviated from the standard 10 miles out, over the field, entering the downwind, turning base, on final, sequence of calls, it was appropriate to do so in the interest of safety. He saw me before I saw him, communicated such, and I was able to do a teardrop to sequence in behind him for a safe landing.
I learned that no matter what happens you must always remember your first responsibility is the safe operation of your aircraft. I was shaken after the other airplane buzzed me (he was REALLY close), and I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that I still had flying to do. I was able to see in that moment how easily one bad situation can lead to another, as I found myself having to really consciously refocus to avoid compounding the situation with further mistakes.
I learned that blame and fault are not particularly relevant to the lessons that can be taken away from an experience like this. When I first called my instructor after I was back on the ground I was pretty fired up from the adrenaline, and my initial explanation to him was focused on “I did everything just like you taught me! This guy came out of nowhere! It wasn’t my fault!” Once I calmed down I realized it doesn’t matter whose fault it was. Had we collided, I wouldn’t be any less dead for not being the one responsible. There were things within my control that I could’ve done differently, and it is my responsibility to identify what those things were and commit to doing them better next time. Anger, defensiveness, etc., are counterproductive to learning and growth.
Finally, I learned that $300 really isn’t that much for an ADS-B receiver.
Honestly there are more things I could say about this, but I think that covers the big ones. I have no doubt that the experience helped me grow into a safer pilot, and I have no doubt that I will have many more such experiences to help me continue that growth. I am a believer in the “a good pilot is always learning” idea, and I will cherish the opportunity to share that outlook with an airline interview panel, should I be so fortunate as to have that opportunity some day.
-Noah
