Narrative:

I was pilot in command giving dual instruction to a student at plattsburgh international airport. The student and I were flying the VFR pattern at night. Approximately half way through the lesson; we were on the base leg of the pattern and there were 7 clicks on the unicom frequency; 122.7; followed by aircraft Y male voice announcing that he was approaching plattsburgh international airport. We continued the approach to runway 17 or the south pointing runway. The 7 clicks brought the lights up to full intensity from medium intensity. The action of the aircraft Y brought no immediate danger to us except blinding the pilot. Seeing this action as unsafe; I reacted by stating that we had ended upside down in a snow drift. When the aircraft Y pilot queried; I continued by stating the airplane was upside down in the middle of the runway at plattsburgh as a result of flash blindness caused by the sudden intensification of lights while I was on short final. Shortly after (less than 1 minute) I stated that we had miraculously turned the airplane upright and were departing (taking off) runway 17 and were going to remain in the pattern. As the aircraft Y pilot was taxiing toward the terminal; he apologized for his action and called it inconsiderate. I replied that it was more of a safety issue and that I reacted strongly because an airplane on short final might have ended up in trouble and I wanted to make a point. I also stated that what he had done was a safety issue. I also stated that the aircraft Y pilot should fill out a NASA report. Considerations: at airports without a control tower; airport lighting is generally pilot controlled. Plattsburgh international airport has a standard pilot controlled lighting system. The lights are controlled by turning on the push-to-talk or 'clicking the mike' 3 times for low intensity; 5 times for medium intensity; and 7 times for full intensity. 7 clicks turns on all the controlled lights to full intensity. Further reading on the subject can be found in the aim and may be found on line at FAA.gov. A pilot flying an airplane toward the runway in preparation to land; particularly in the few moments before landing; has no time for control or re-control of runway light intensity. A sudden change in intensity could lead to an accident. Landing is a very visual maneuver and the pilot's eyes need time to adjust to light level changes. A sudden increase in light intensity can leave the pilot with a corresponding blindness that takes time to adjust to. This happens both when the light level increases and decreases. In the visual flight rule's (VFR's) cockpit the interior lighting is intentionally kept very low so that the eyes adjust to the subtle light cues coming from the environment outside the airplane can be seen. FAA literature recommends 1/2 hour to adjust completely to the low level light intensity of night flying. Similarly; it takes time to adjust in the other direction. Landing is also a time when the pilot's concentration should be very focused on the process of landing the airplane. A new pilot or one without a lot of recent experience and/or recent night experience could be sufficiently distracted during the landing phase of flight to make misjudgements resulting in a crash landing or a botched go-around. I take responsibility for my actions and reacted in the situation because of previous experiences with pilot controlled lighting. In reconsidering my reaction; I believe it was ill conceived but well meaning. I wanted to drive a point home in terms of safety and stop the irresponsible actions of the aircraft Y pilot before they continued and he hurt someone. Although I was angry with the pilot; I would rather see him upset for a moment than having to answer to his company; the FAA; or to the lawyer of some grieving relative. I am open to any suggestions on how to better respond to this situation when it happens again. I'm not sure whether it is a training issue or a company procedures issue. I train my students to be very careful wit

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Instructor pilot of C172 on short final was distressed at the insensitivity of the pilot of another aircraft who turned on the pilot controlled lighting to full intensity at PBG. Acts irresponsibly by announcing 'flash blindness' had caused his aircraft to crash and flip over in a snow bank.

Narrative: I was pilot in command giving dual instruction to a student at Plattsburgh International Airport. The Student and I were flying the VFR pattern at night. Approximately half way through the lesson; we were on the base leg of the pattern and there were 7 clicks on the UNICOM frequency; 122.7; followed by Aircraft Y male voice announcing that he was approaching Plattsburgh International Airport. We continued the approach to Runway 17 or the south pointing runway. The 7 clicks brought the lights up to full intensity from medium intensity. The action of the Aircraft Y brought no immediate danger to us except blinding the pilot. Seeing this action as unsafe; I reacted by stating that we had ended upside down in a snow drift. When the Aircraft Y pilot queried; I continued by stating the airplane was upside down in the middle of the runway at Plattsburgh as a result of flash blindness caused by the sudden intensification of lights while I was on short final. Shortly after (less than 1 minute) I stated that we had miraculously turned the airplane upright and were departing (taking off) Runway 17 and were going to remain in the pattern. As the Aircraft Y pilot was taxiing toward the terminal; he apologized for his action and called it inconsiderate. I replied that it was more of a safety issue and that I reacted strongly because an airplane on short final might have ended up in trouble and I wanted to make a point. I also stated that what he had done was a safety issue. I also stated that the Aircraft Y pilot should fill out a NASA Report. Considerations: At airports without a Control Tower; airport lighting is generally pilot controlled. Plattsburgh International Airport has a standard PCL system. The lights are controlled by turning on the push-to-talk or 'clicking the mike' 3 times for low intensity; 5 times for medium intensity; and 7 times for full intensity. 7 clicks turns on all the controlled lights to full intensity. Further reading on the subject can be found in the AIM and may be found on line at FAA.gov. A pilot flying an airplane toward the runway in preparation to land; particularly in the few moments before landing; has no time for control or re-control of runway light intensity. A sudden change in intensity could lead to an accident. Landing is a very visual maneuver and the pilot's eyes need time to adjust to light level changes. A sudden increase in light intensity can leave the pilot with a corresponding blindness that takes time to adjust to. This happens both when the light level increases and decreases. In the Visual Flight Rule's (VFR's) cockpit the interior lighting is intentionally kept very low so that the eyes adjust to the subtle light cues coming from the environment outside the airplane can be seen. FAA literature recommends 1/2 hour to adjust completely to the low level light intensity of night flying. Similarly; it takes time to adjust in the other direction. Landing is also a time when the pilot's concentration should be very focused on the process of landing the airplane. A new pilot or one without a lot of recent experience and/or recent night experience could be sufficiently distracted during the landing phase of flight to make misjudgements resulting in a crash landing or a botched go-around. I take responsibility for my actions and reacted in the situation because of previous experiences with PCL. In reconsidering my reaction; I believe it was ill conceived but well meaning. I wanted to drive a point home in terms of safety and stop the irresponsible actions of the Aircraft Y pilot before they continued and he hurt someone. Although I was angry with the pilot; I would rather see him upset for a moment than having to answer to his company; the FAA; or to the lawyer of some grieving relative. I am open to any suggestions on how to better respond to this situation when it happens again. I'm not sure whether it is a training issue or a company procedures issue. I train my students to be very careful wit

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.