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A pilot departed his home field for a familiar nearby CTAF field after a self-brief and upon landing discovered active traffic on the runway. The airport's CTAF frequency had been changed two weeks earlier.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1293540 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201509 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-34-200T Turbo Seneca II |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach Final Approach |
| Route In Use | Visual Approach |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 14 Flight Crew Total 1450 Flight Crew Type 274 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Conflict Ground Conflict Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
| Miss Distance | Horizontal 1000 |
Narrative:
Familiar airport 45 NM from home field. Familiar with CTAF frequency. Weather checked on [computer software]; frequencies confirmed. Calls made at 15 miles; 10 miles; 5 miles and as crossing midfield for left down wind runway 18. Downwind base and final called; only one aircraft observed leaving the pattern; none seen on ground. Uneventful landing runway 18; opposing traffic identified shortly after touchdown. Both aircraft moved to opposite sides of runway and stopped prior to contact. CTAF had been changed 2 weeks prior; no one heard my position reports as I was broadcasting on the old CTAF frequency!several factors contributed to this conflict. I self briefed from [computer software] which contained the old CTAF. I didn't check AWOS having already checked weather and due to the short flight and familiarity with airport. The incident occurred on a holiday so I didn't take the absence of radio traffic as unusual nor did I think it could have meant that the CTAF frequency might have changed. I will always check AWOS no matter the circumstances. I will continue to broadcast position reports but will be more vigilant of air and ground traffic. Could the local flight school and unicom monitor both the old and new frequencies for some period of time? This might help prevent a similar episode.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A pilot departed his home field for a familiar nearby CTAF field after a self-brief and upon landing discovered active traffic on the runway. The airport's CTAF frequency had been changed two weeks earlier.
Narrative: Familiar airport 45 NM from home field. Familiar with CTAF frequency. Weather checked on [computer software]; frequencies confirmed. Calls made at 15 miles; 10 miles; 5 miles and as crossing midfield for left down wind runway 18. Downwind base and final called; only one aircraft observed leaving the pattern; none seen on ground. Uneventful landing runway 18; opposing traffic identified shortly after touchdown. Both aircraft moved to opposite sides of runway and stopped prior to contact. CTAF had been changed 2 weeks prior; no one heard my position reports as I was broadcasting on the old CTAF FREQUENCY!Several factors contributed to this conflict. I self briefed from [computer software] which contained the old CTAF. I didn't check AWOS having already checked weather and due to the short flight and familiarity with airport. The incident occurred on a holiday so I didn't take the absence of radio traffic as unusual nor did I think it could have meant that the CTAF frequency might have changed. I will always check AWOS no matter the circumstances. I will continue to broadcast position reports but will be more vigilant of air and ground traffic. Could the local flight school and Unicom monitor both the old and new frequencies for some period of time? This might help prevent a similar episode.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.