ATC clears takeoff aircraft for midair

I'm a newly minted PP-ASEL and had a disturbing experience the other day.
I've begun renting at the field where I trained, a busy class D airport.
It's usually not possible to do pattern work there because it's so busy.
Returning from a local flight, I noticed that there was very little traffic,
so I asked to do some touch & gos; I was making left traffic using runway
16. On the 3rd or 4th go, I noticed that a craft was cleared for takeoff on
runway 11. I knew immediately that our paths would cross. I could not see
the other plane as it was behind me; the other pilot was warned by the tower
that I was in the pattern making left traffic. The other pilot finally saw
me as I was turning crosswing to downwind (heading 70 to 340) and he
indicated he was turning right from his takeoff heading 110. When I caught
sight of him, I don't think we were more than 100'-200' apart. At this
point, I said "traffic in sight" and tower replied "maintain visual
separation." If I had it to do again, I would have left the pattern and
headed outbound heading somewhere between 160 (my departure heading) and 110
(the other pilot's) until we had positive visual identification.

I'd be especially interested in comments from Gene Whitt, who said ATC has
been trying to kill him for 40 years, and anyone who might recognize the
airport from the runways described.

It is not unusual for such examples to occur.
It happens on approach to landings, also.
The CDAS towered field I fly out of is the third busiest in our state
(100k+ operations) and is the training base for a large university.
Students and experienced pilots alike have come close on multiple
occassions in the 25 years I have been flying here.
This seems to have happened more frequently since the field was dropped
as an FAA staffed facility to a contract facility.

"Joe Johnson" wrote:
I'm a newly minted PP-ASEL and had a disturbing experience the other day.
I've begun renting at the field where I trained, a busy class D airport.
It's usually not possible to do pattern work there because it's so busy.
Returning from a local flight, I noticed that there was very little traffic,
so I asked to do some touch & gos; I was making left traffic using runway
16. On the 3rd or 4th go, I noticed that a craft was cleared for takeoff on
runway 11.

I'm guessing we're talking about HPN?

I knew immediately that our paths would cross. I could not see
the other plane as it was behind me; the other pilot was warned by the tower
that I was in the pattern making left traffic. The other pilot finally saw
me as I was turning crosswing to downwind (heading 70 to 340) and he
indicated he was turning right from his takeoff heading 110. When I caught
sight of him, I don't think we were more than 100'-200' apart. At this
point, I said "traffic in sight" and tower replied "maintain visual
separation." If I had it to do again, I would have left the pattern and
headed outbound heading somewhere between 160 (my departure heading) and 110
(the other pilot's) until we had positive visual identification.

The lesson here is that it's your job to keep a good lookout for
traffic. Doesn't matter if you're IFR, VFR, talking to a controller,
etc. Always keep a good traffic watch, and do whatever you gotta do to
keep from hitting other airplanes. The tower's sole responsibility is
to sequence traffic and provide separation on the runways and taxiways.
Regardless of all the instructions and warnings they might give you,
legally if you are VFR at a class D airport, the primary responsibility
for avoiding other traffic rests with you.

One thing you should realize about the phrase "maintain visual
separation". It's more than just a suggestion, it's the controller's
way (for the benefit of the tape recording) of legally transferring
separation responsibility to you.

Yes indeed, Roy, it's HPN. I'm aware of and agree with everything you said.
I'm upset with myself for not following my first impulse, which was to
continue outbound until the other pilot and I had visual contact. This was
Sunday night, and I was unfamiliar with this particular controller.
Listening to the radio traffic, I noticed she had something of an attitude
problem. Have you had this experience?

The tower at a class D airport does not provide much in the way of traffic
separation. They schedule takeoffs and landings and that is about it. They
don't have to tell you when to turn crosswind to downwind, or what heading a
departing aircraft is to take. If you want that kind of service you need to
fly out of class B airports. It is up to the pilots to look out for one
another.

In article ,
"Joe Johnson" wrote:

Yes indeed, Roy, it's HPN. I'm aware of and agree with everything you said.
I'm upset with myself for not following my first impulse, which was to
continue outbound until the other pilot and I had visual contact. This was
Sunday night, and I was unfamiliar with this particular controller.
Listening to the radio traffic, I noticed she had something of an attitude
problem. Have you had this experience?

The controllers at HPN are pretty good. Sure, they make mistakes on
occassion, but so do all of us. I figure if my error rate was as low as
theirs, I'd be a pretty good pilot.

HPN is a really challenging environment for both pilots and controllers.
First, the mix of traffic is unlike anything you'll see anywhere else.
Lot's of GA, lots of student training, bizjets, turboprops, more
helicopters than you can shake a stick at, and of course scheduled
airlines. Not to mention the occasional blimp. About the only thing
I've never seen at HPN is a glider or an ultralight :-) The airport
layout has two intersecting runways, with many pairs of runway ends not
visible from each other. Cram all that into a complex airspace where
the flow of things is really driven by the flow of heavy metal into LGA,
JFK, and EWR, and it's a mess. Keep your eyes open and your head on a
swivel.

As for attitude, it's really hard to infer subjective things like
emotion and attitude over the radio. I wouldn't read too much into it.

The tower at a class D airport does not provide much in the way of traffic
separation. They schedule takeoffs and landings and that is about it.

Which is why, IMHO, Class D airspace is the single most dangerous airspace
around.

The designation of "Class D" provides the veneer of controlled airspace
without any real substance, and lulls the unwary into a false sense of
security.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...


One thing you should realize about the phrase "maintain visual
separation". It's more than just a suggestion, it's the controller's
way (for the benefit of the tape recording) of legally transferring
separation responsibility to you.

There's no reason for a class D tower controller to ever use the phrase
"maintain visual separation" to two VFR aircraft. There was no separation
standard in the first place, thus nothing to transfer to the pilot.

"Joe Johnson" wrote in message
. ..
I'm a newly minted PP-ASEL and had a disturbing experience the other day.
I've begun renting at the field where I trained, a busy class D airport.
It's usually not possible to do pattern work there because it's so busy.
Returning from a local flight, I noticed that there was very little
traffic,
so I asked to do some touch & gos; I was making left traffic using runway
16. On the 3rd or 4th go, I noticed that a craft was cleared for takeoff
on
runway 11. I knew immediately that our paths would cross. I could not
see
the other plane as it was behind me; the other pilot was warned by the
tower
that I was in the pattern making left traffic. The other pilot finally
saw
me as I was turning crosswing to downwind (heading 70 to 340) and he
indicated he was turning right from his takeoff heading 110. When I
caught
sight of him, I don't think we were more than 100'-200' apart. At this
point, I said "traffic in sight" and tower replied "maintain visual
separation."

So far this is all normal VFR tower stuff.



If I had it to do again, I would have left the pattern and
headed outbound heading somewhere between 160 (my departure heading) and
110
(the other pilot's) until we had positive visual identification.

This would only make it worse.



I'd be especially interested in comments from Gene Whitt, who said ATC has
been trying to kill him for 40 years, and anyone who might recognize the
airport from the runways described.


I worked at a busy VFR tower for four years. That's exactly what happens
every day. We're still trying to get Gene, he's a little slippery though.

"Joe Johnson" wrote in message
. ..

I'm a newly minted PP-ASEL and had a disturbing experience the
other day. I've begun renting at the field where I trained, a busy
class D airport. It's usually not possible to do pattern work there
because it's so busy. Returning from a local flight, I noticed that
there was very little traffic, so I asked to do some touch & gos; I
was making left traffic using runway 16. On the 3rd or 4th go, I
noticed that a craft was cleared for takeoff on runway 11. I
knew immediately that our paths would cross. I could not see
the other plane as it was behind me; the other pilot was warned
by the tower that I was in the pattern making left traffic. The other
pilot finally saw me as I was turning crosswing to downwind
(heading 70 to 340) and he indicated he was turning right from
his takeoff heading 110. When I caught sight of him, I don't think
we were more than 100'-200' apart. At this point, I said "traffic
in sight" and tower replied "maintain visual separation." If I had it
to do again, I would have left the pattern and headed outbound
heading somewhere between 160 (my departure heading) and 110
(the other pilot's) until we had positive visual identification.

I'd be especially interested in comments from Gene Whitt, who
said ATC has been trying to kill him for 40 years, and anyone
who might recognize the airport from the runways described.


ATC does not separate VFR traffic in Class D airspace, separation is
provided only on the ground. ATC's responsibilities in this case were to
insure you and the departing aircraft did not occupy the runway intersection
at the same time, and traffic advisories. That being said, there's no point
in having aircraft cross paths if they don't need to. You only mention the
one other aircraft, assuming there was no other traffic the tower could have
had you make right traffic for at least one circuit. That way you only
cross paths at the intersection, where ATC must ensure separation. The
controller may not have thought it was necessary, but you could have
requested it.