Really?

[Autothrust Blue]

Not being particularly close to perfect, I've caught myself announcing backwards when taking a runway at a non-towered airport for departure. Also forgetting the runway number itself.

A few years ago, during a checkout in a new-to-me airplane, the CFI I worked with made a simple suggestion to avoid it and the related announcement of the wrong runway altogether. set the heading bug (if you have one) on the runway numbers well ahead of time.

And, no, the CFI's recommendation wasn't the result of a bad call on my part. Just something he had come across as a cross-check for confirming the correct runway and as a way of avoiding ground and traffic pattern related collisions due to bad calls.

This is required procedure at the airline I fly for. It prevents a dumb way to die. The FO states the heading for the runway of intended takeoff and sets the heading bug(s) to that heading during taxi.

Upon entering a runway, the Captain will state "RUNWAY (___) CONFIRMED." (There's a boldface warning - "use all available resources..." about this confirmation.)

When lined up, the Captain will verify the heading bug against the airplane's magnetic heading and state "RUNWAY HEADING CHECKS." The First Officer will then do the same, and state "CHECKS."

(I find myself doing this in every airplane I fly.)

 

[Roger Roger]

I uh... well I know this guy who has glanced at the runways at some untowered airport, and then announced a position to a runway that doesn't exist at that airport. Left downwind 35, runway is 32.
Or I guess what is more common is "left downwind runway......... (20 seconds later) left downwind runway 32."

"Downwind for uhhhhhhhh..... northwest landing Tununungsunkatuliaq"

 

[Roger Roger]

You sure they weren't Cirrus pilots?

FIFY.

 

[pnwchief22]

We ran to PDX area and back on Saturday, with flight following....now that was a hoot and a half listening to second language students trying to read back IFR instructions....Fly heading 270 - expect further clearance in 60 minutes.