We publish a handful of accident reports from the NTSB in the first print edition of General Aviation News each month. We do so “as an educational tool.”
And for years I’ve heard from countless numbers of readers who tell me the accident reports are among the first things they turn to. Online, our daily accident report is consistently among the most visited stories on our website.
As an aside, I choose to believe we pilots are trying to “learn from the misfortunes of others” and not merely macabre.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand.
Are we pilots out of control? Not in the literal sense of being out of control. But, as in, when we fly at a non-towered airport, we pilots refer to it as an “uncontrolled airport.”
Randy Coller wrote to us suggesting we replace “uncontrolled airport with non-towered in the NTSB Accident Reports.” His thought includes a simple and common sense rationale: “Those of us in the industry understand uncontrolled, but lay persons might think those little flivvers are way out of control.”
Randy’s email got me to wondering where “uncontrolled” is used in the FAR/AIM. So I launched my FAR/AIM app from ASA on my iPhone (also available for Android, by the way) and simply typed the more generic “uncontrol” in the search bar. By shortening the term, I would see other situations where the root word was used.
The app found “uncontrol” in 34 locations — 16 in the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) and 18 in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM).
None of the FAR references refer to “uncontrolled airports.” Five FARs refer to “uncontrolled airspace” in general, without specific reference to airports:
- 91.179: IFR cruising altitude or flight level
- 103.11: Daylight operations
- 105.1: Applicability
- 133.33: Operating rules
- 135.205: VFR: Visibility Requirements
The AIM does refer to “uncontrolled airports” specifically.
And I found one instance of “uncontrolled aircraft.” Yikes.
AIM 5-4-2.a. includes “The application of these procedures also reduces exposure time between controlled aircraft and uncontrolled aircraft at the lower altitudes in and around the terminal environment.” For those of us in the know, we understand “uncontrolled aircraft” in this example refers to an aircraft that is NOT in contact with ATC, not physically out of control.
AIM 4-3-26 is titled, “Operations at Uncontrolled Airports With Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS)/Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS).” There it is, right in the section title.
There are other examples, but I’m certain you get the idea.
I doubt many non-aviators will just happen to find these references, but many people know how to command Google to do their bidding, or at least internet searching. And that’s the point Randy is making.
Randy prefers non-towered airport in the place of uncontrolled airport. I can go along with that, but I prefer pilot-controlled airport.
When I think about it, pilot-controlled airports are similar to driving around town in my truck. I don’t audibly broadcast my location and intentions while driving. I follow the rules of the road, like most everyone else. So I suppose you could say the roads are driver-controlled.
And I don’t equate this discussion to the May 2020 Aviation Instructor Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9B) update, which replaced “Student” with “Learner” and “Cockpit” with “Flight deck.”
Then again, maybe I should equate the two. Words matter. Terms matter. How we label things matters.
In this case, I happen to agree with Randy. We shouldn’t use uncontrolled airports as the common term for non-towered/pilot-controlled airports. Moving forward, we’ll do our best to replace “uncontrolled airports” with non-towered or pilot-controlled.
After all, we may be an unruly bunch, but we are far from uncontrolled.
Reminds me of a Judge Judy episode, she told the defendant to lift his left leg and hop three steps to the left then hop three steps back, which he did. Judy asked him why he did that, he replied because you are a judge and told me to do that, her reply was you are an idiot!
Can’t stand the concept of “degenderization”, and the attempt to oversimplify things. I fly a Challenger 1: I have a cockpit, I do not have a flight deck because a deck gives you room to move about. The only moving about that I can do is my backside inside the seat. It is not a flight deck. A flight deck is found on a very large aircraft such as a 747 et al…
But I prefer the term non-towered airport over pilot control airport because that implies the pilot is in control of the environment. And that’s not an accurate representation. But a term, non-towered, that immediately tells me that there is no control tower and therefore I am on my own, and therefore I had better exercise all of my piloting situational awareness skills sets.
As a private pilot single engine land, I am also a critical care registered nurse. Terms are absolutely essential to be clearly understood and to be clearly defining or describing something or someone or a situation. That’s why I don’t like some of the tendencies towards this modification of accepted terminology. Yes cockpit is to some people offensive only because they’re fragile personality and I refuse to comply to their singularity driving the majority. I unfortunately maybe tilting at windmills, but I will fight the good fight until I can no longer do so…
A good illustration of an important axiom that’s been operative for maybe 200,000 years now: “Language is powerful”.
More like pilot coordination. No pilot is acting in control of others.
This really is a semantic issue. Pilots understand “uncontrolled airport” one way and the non-pilot public understand it another way. I am the chairman of our town airport commission and we are battling local neighbors whose ultimate agenda is to close down the airport; even though the airport was there many years before any substantial development took place. So they have turned the uncontrolled airport phrase into something that connotes danger and a lack of control, whether it’s in the air or on the ground. Obviously this is extremely detrimental to our work as we try to promote safety. Frankly, I don’t know if calling it a non-towered airport would have made a difference, but it might have added less fuel to the fire. Bottom line, words are important. Choose them carefully.
At Flabob (KRIR) we use the term “tower free.”
At one time we used the term higher standards, however, today we are trending our standards to accommodate the uniformed/low IQ public. There are two types of airports, controlled and uncontrolled. One has a control tower the other doesn’t. It is not tough to figure that one out. In aviation we have our own jargon time tested throughout the decades. If our new students “learners” fail to understand its meaning then we are all in danger when we are flying. I see the real problem everyday, The lack of understanding of concepts in aviation this includes pilots, mechanics and government employee’s. The failure of our public schools and big tech has taken away the learning process of understanding/meanings found in books and manuals. When we lose understanding as a cornerstone what’s next to fall in the learning process: application and correlate. Now we are only left with rote memory and several broken links in the accident chain. Fly safe my friends.
Well done Ben.Thank you
WOW!!! “Uncontrolled airport” “Cockpit”. We are losing our country and you folks are nattering about irrelevant words. Get real people. We are in danger of losing our very freedom to fly! If you think avgas costs are ridiculous get ready for the “green new deal” which will price fossil fuels out of reach for everyone.
Your time would be far better spent forcing your politicians to answer to you.
Not really concerned about the non flyer’s thoughts on uncontrolled fields. Any investigation at all on their part would explain the term.
I enjoyed your article, “Are we out of control?”. I’m glad to read someone else working towards simplification for better learning and understanding. I’ve struggled myself with my own attempts at “keeping it simple” especially surrounding the word “Controlled” when teaching about airspace. You brought up a very good point that hit home when the FAR/AIM calls my home airport “an uncontrolled airport”. Keeping it simple has been the foundation of my teaching as a flight instructor and I am happy to read that there are more people out their fighting for simplification. I believe simplification leads to better, faster and long term understanding. Thank you.
Call it whatever you want…airports without a tower are the most dangerous by any measure. The FAA allows aircraft to fly without radios or follow any specific rules round them (the AIM is SUGGESTION). You get what you allow…
Not so. I recommend you review 91.113, 91.126(a) and (b); 91.127(a); 91.129(a) and (c), for some examples.
The AIM is not regulatory, but neither is it a mere suggestion. It is guidance which, if disregarded, can be the basis of enforcement action under 91.13.
Time for a good flight review, possibly?
I might add CFR 14 Part 1: Traffic pattern, to that list…
You are wrong. The AIM and ACs are ADVISORY and not regulatory or binding. The AIM itself states it “is designed to provide the aviation community with basic flight information and ATC procedures for use in the National Airspace System…” The AC’s, according to the AIM “are not binding on the public” unless incorporated into a regulation.
These are all “non‑regulatory” documents. That means only two things. First, their content is not subject to the notice and other requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. Second, they do not provide a direct basis for an enforcement action.
You can twist the languge of a FAR all you want…but if you want to stay out of trouble you shoud learn the difference between a FAR (CFR) and what is described in the AIM.
I have seen an older statistic that indicated the majority of traffic pattern mid-airs occur at non-towered airports. I wonder how much ADS-B is changing that …
I was almost rolled over once right after takeoff when the tower directed an arriving Sikorsky helicopter coming from behind us to overfly the parallel taxiway. And the greatest disaster in aviation history occurred at a towered airport.
The term that bugs me is movement area / non-movement area. I can move in either one but I need a radio to get permission in the movement area SO .. I call it “radio area / no-radio area.”
Some people have way to much free time. How do you come up with this Stuff?
I read the accident reports every day on Aviation News and wonder how these accidents happen and this is a perfect example. Emphasis should be on basic flying and not on creating more confusion.
I was an Aviation Safety Counselor in Kentucky during the 1990’s. During that time the FAA Louisville FSDO put the work out to us instructors to start using Non-towered airports in place of “Uncontrolled.” The inspector that told me said “reporters think uncontrolled airports are out of control and must be reigned in.”
Well actually, I know of a few uncontrolled airports that ARE out of control. Here in Northern California it’s the ‘wild west’ again, with pilots flying wherever and however they want to, disregarding standard traffic pattern procedures.
I expect at least one mid-air collision this next year…
It’s seems to be a common problem everywhere, self announcing and flying whatever pattern is most convenient appears to be the current thinking. NORDO aircraft are most likely to fly the prescribed pattern because they can’t self announce their intentions.
I live on a non-towered public use airpark, so I get to observe a lot of interesting pattern behavior or more like “dodge a plane”
‘Dodge-a-plane’ is an appropriate term. I’d add, ‘ Where the h#ll are you’, as pilots announce their position, but are no where near there.
Or flying a downwind 1-2 miles abeam the runway, and announce a ‘2 mile final’.
It’s really difficult to see an aircraft 2 miles away and down in the ground clutter.
I’ve really grown tired of this year and it’s theme.
My thanks to Alex Nelon for making me laugh out loud!
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Ol’ Willy was right. Aviation terminology being changed for the masses to understand it better would be a fool’s errand. For instance, what term should replace “commercial pilot”, when I haven’t flown for hire in almost 35 years? Or how about those “commercial pilots” who’ve never flown for hire? Given time, I could come up with a very long list of aviation nomenclature that undoubtedly makes no sense to the ignorant public. Because of the equally ignorant 4th Estate, we have “omigod, he didn’t file a flight plan” as a cause of accidents and all sorts of other misinformation. So whether an airport is non-towered, uncontrolled, pilot controlled, or just there really makes little difference. What is important is that the pilots using it know what the rules are, and changing the nomenclature won’t make any difference there, either.
just a bit of my personal experience why not call it a radio controlled
airport
There may be a thousand aviation terms that are meaningless to the non-aviation types. Trying to revise such usage would only add chaos. Last thing needed is a battalion of ‘grammar police’ trying to make aviation more benign and palatable to the ignorant.
I refuse to be controlled. I bristle at the mere mention of it. I see no need to change the uncontrolled airport terminology. It is accurate, the airport environment is uncontrolled and everyone is responsible for their own separation. Yee gads, individual responsibility! Can you handle it? Who will your heirs blame?
If there are those whose constitutions can not handle that degree of freedom and responsibility, let them tune their radios and head to a towered airport so they can put their life and limb in the hands of a Controller.
Good Lord! Think of all those helpless people flying along on the Final Approach
And then you have to go to the ‘terminal’. Seriously, though, words matter. I once explained to the mother of one of my students that after training locally, we would do cross-country flights. She almost had an attack, thinking we would fly from Connecticut, where we are based, to California.
Thanks for the article Ben!
Randy Coller (no “i”)
😉