Pilot Follows GPS - Lands on Road

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horses and/or children...coulda been a lot worse.

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The last time I read about a runway having a canopy of tree, it was in the 1940's and in the South Pacific. Very unnecessary in this day and age....unless you're carrying a plane-load of pot.
 
SurferLucas said:
Just another case of a student pilot with SJS...he's in a Cirrus and landed on "Citation Road"...it's pretty easy to figure out! Here's the airport in question...not that hard to pick out that it's an airport, is it?
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I fly over there several times a week - for someone that had been flying for less than a year, I don't think that field is very easy to spot. You wouldn't see runway numbers, VASI, or anything like that.

For a small, short private field you don't know, it isn't such a bad idea to make a low pass to familiarize yourself with the layout, turnoffs, landmarks and such. I don't know any CFI's that would teach doing this, but it is generally prudent in Ag aircraft.
 
It really doesn't matter what language you speak...a 30' wide road with no paint isn't a 50' wide runway with dashed white stripes and numbers on it.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
For a small, short private field you don't know, it isn't such a bad idea to make a low pass to familiarize yourself with the layout, turnoffs, landmarks and such. I don't know any CFI's that would teach doing this, but it is generally prudent in Ag aircraft.
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.....if not a little pre-mission planning prior to the flight. A F/D maybe, google/bing/yahoo maps, something.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
If you turn off the labels on google maps, the road looks remarkably like the runway...
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It also kinda looks like (in the satellite photo) that there might be an airplane under the water in that pond on the north end of Citation Rd, so maybe it's a more common error than we realize... :)
 
His GPS said that was a runway? "And my safetaxi told me that I should taxi right into the living room of that house" Im sure the "Horse people" are loving this!
 
I know I am about to get flamed for this, but I feel the PTS needs a redo and the PVT and INST PTS should require the equipt. to be steam guages, and slant A only. GPS and glass should not be introduced until either Comm. or advanced HP or complex training. With the advent of the G1000 and Avidine suites, the whole point of the solo cross country flights simply became moot. The sad part is pilots like this guy might not survive if they ever have to fly in IMC on the standby 3 (or partial panel), or are likely to use a non-terrain gps in marginal conditions to go direct, right into a tower/antenna. We are handy capping new pilots under the guise of situational awareness, so much that the GPS is a crutch. Like anything else if you use the equipment properly it can be great, but use it wrong and you are on the news (on your cellphone in your spiffy uniform walking around looking like a bonehead, if your lucky).
 
I once heard this radio conversation in SAF:

Pilot: Uhhhhhhhh mooney 12345 uhhhhhhhh we're somehwere due north of you, just due north inbound for landing.
Tower: Uhhh roger, how far out? We don't have radar at this time.
Pilot: I'm due north.
Tower: You aware of the TFR to the Northwest of the airport?
Pilot: Affirmative, I have it on my 496.
Tower: uhhhhh...(laughs)....then HOW FAR OUT DOES YOUR GPS SAY YOU ARE.
Pilot: 10 MILES DUE NORTH.
TOWER: YEah, I heard you say due north the first time...report a 5 mile final 20.
PILOT: I'm on a left base for 2.
Tower: Cleared to land any runway, wind calm.
 
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