Alaska News

Group hoping to reduce midair collisions turns focus toward Glenn Highway corridor

A working group established in 2011 to address the issue of midair collisions in Mat-Su is now turning its attention to the Glenn Highway corridor.

Comprised of representatives from government, military, industry and various user organizations, the Mat-Su working group found success last summer in making long-awaited changes to the published Common Traffic Advisory Frequencies in the Mat Su Valley. The new frequency assignments should simplify communications between aircraft operating in the area and are intended to reduce the possibility of mid-air collisions caused by pilots on incorrect frequencies.

The group also succeeded in establishing an Alaska exception to the definition of CTAF in the federal Aeronautical Information Manual. This should mitigate confusion among pilots who review this primary aviation text and reinforce the uniqueness of the Mat-Su flying environment.

Further concerns were raised about the Glenn Highway corridor, which parallels the road between the Palmer and Anchorage airports down to Cook Inlet, during the Mat-Su discussions conducted statewide between 2011 and 2014. Aircraft operating under visual flight rules fly within the narrow corridor due to airspace restrictions associated with Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to the northwest and mountainous terrain to the southeast.

A comparison of published charts with the AIM and Alaska? supplement presented potential inconsistencies between altitudes and frequencies, which are areas of common confusion within high-use VFR traffic areas. According to a blog post by Aircraft and Owners and Pilots Association Alaska Regional Manager Tom George, "the group is now undertaking an examination of flight routes, CTAF assignments and use patterns along the Glenn Highway, to see if changes might be recommended to improve aviation safety along this busy flight corridor."

There was a tragic midair accident in the corridor involving a Cessna 170 and Cessna 172 about 7 miles north of Chugiak in 2006. It resulted in the deaths of all five people aboard the two aircraft. Both planes were based at Birchwood Airport, where the flights originated that day. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the accident's cause was due to failure on behalf of the pilots to maintain adequate visual lookout which led to a failure to see and avoid each other. The Cessna 170 pilot communicated with Palmer Flight Service; there were no reports of communications from the pilot of the Cessna 172.

The increased exposure on the Glenn Highway corridor through the working group's efforts should draw more attention to the need for regular communications among all pilots in high traffic VFR areas throughout Alaska. This is especially true in light of the positive changes in the Mat-Su and the recent nonfatal midair collision there.

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For an illustration of the Glen Highway corridor and further discussion on the working group's efforts, see the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Alaska Region blog. Individuals interested in obtaining information on the project may contact tom.george@aopa.org.

Contact Colleen Mondor at colleen@alaskadispatch.com.

Colleen Mondor

Colleen Mondor is the author of "The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska." Find her at chasingray.com or on Twitter @chasingray.

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