 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
Dwh controller reported there are trees at the airport that affect the visibility of aircraft near the helicopter pad and some of the taxiways.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1460376 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201706 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | DWH.Airport |
| State Reference | TX |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Light Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Route In Use | None |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Ground |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 6 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types |
Narrative:
I was working ground control at the time of this incident. This problem has been a reoccurring issue for more than a year and it has been reported by multiple controllers; reported to FAA management and to airport management multiple times by multiple controllers; pilots and airport personnel.this is a visibility issue. The trees along taxiway golf and at the field north of the control tower have been allowed to grow unchecked. The trees at the north end of the field are so tall that they partially obscure the helicopter pad. The trees along taxiway golf conceal half of the taxiway and are tall enough to completely conceal all small aircraft and most jets.today I had aircraft X taxi to runway 17R via echo for a back-taxi for an IFR departure. I passed the IFR strip and all information to the local controller. Aircraft X called the local controller ready for the back-taxi. The local controller was confused because the aircraft was completely hidden by the trees. He had to ask the pilot to say his position. After I told the local controller where the aircraft was; it was back to normal operations.what if the local controller had an aircraft landing that exited at intersection echo and turned onto that taxiway? You would have a nose-to-nose situation with not enough room for either aircraft to turn around. We also have an issue on the airfield with deer and coyote. We cannot see anything in those areas to help the pilots.for months; those who have asked airport operations about the status of the tree removal. 'We're working on it' is what we always hear back.the situation is becoming very dangerous now! It is a safety risk.we need those trees trimmed down or completely eliminated. There is no other option in this issue. The control tower needs to be able to see the aircraft that are taxiing in the movement area!
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: DWH Controller reported there are trees at the airport that affect the visibility of aircraft near the helicopter pad and some of the taxiways.
Narrative: I was working Ground Control at the time of this incident. This problem has been a reoccurring issue for more than a year and it has been reported by multiple controllers; reported to FAA Management and to Airport Management multiple times by multiple controllers; pilots and airport personnel.This is a visibility issue. The trees along taxiway Golf and at the field north of the Control Tower have been allowed to grow unchecked. The trees at the north end of the field are so tall that they partially obscure the helicopter pad. The trees along Taxiway Golf conceal half of the taxiway and are tall enough to completely conceal all small aircraft and most jets.Today I had Aircraft X taxi to runway 17R via Echo for a back-taxi for an IFR departure. I passed the IFR strip and all information to the Local Controller. Aircraft X called the Local Controller ready for the back-taxi. The Local Controller was confused because the aircraft was completely hidden by the trees. He had to ask the pilot to say his position. After I told the Local Controller where the aircraft was; it was back to normal operations.What if the Local Controller had an aircraft landing that exited at intersection Echo and turned onto that taxiway? You would have a nose-to-nose situation with not enough room for either aircraft to turn around. We also have an issue on the airfield with deer and coyote. We cannot see anything in those areas to help the pilots.For months; those who have asked Airport Operations about the status of the tree removal. 'We're working on it' is what we always hear back.The situation is becoming very dangerous now! It is a safety risk.We need those trees trimmed down or completely eliminated. There is no other option in this issue. The control tower needs to be able to see the aircraft that are taxiing in the movement area!
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.