Airport safety task force recommendations prioritize pilot education and ease of approach

The rugged terrain, high winds, and difficult-to-predict mountain weather make Aspen’s airport one of the most challenging places for pilots to navigate. A new set of safety recommendations approved by Pitkin County commissioners aim to bolster flight operations safety. 

The Flight Ops Safety Task Force authored a report that lays out eight different strategies for improving safety at the airport but highlighted three as the most important: instantaneous winds, a pilot education and safety campaign, and improved instrument approaches. 

The commissioners approved the formation of the Flight Ops Safety Task Force in December 2022, a direct result of the 2020 Common Ground Recommendations, a set of goals for the airport authored by a committee of community members. The task force is made up of local pilots, many of whom regularly fly in and out of the Aspen airport. 

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Instantaneous winds

The winds at the airport pose a challenge to even seasoned pilots. The report reads “Runway 15 landings with tailwinds, turbulence, and wind shear caused by wind spill-over Shale Bluffs and other landforms and rapidly changing winds on Runway 33 departures have all been implicated in numerous airport accidents and incidents.”

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A pilot receives data on wind from the air traffic control tower upon takeoff and landing. Something that only the Aspen airport does is provide a data point called “instantaneous winds” or a current 3-second wind average. 

Daniel Baker, a part-time Pitkin County resident, commercial pilot, flight instructor, and task-force member, said that instantaneous winds offers a momentary picture of wind patterns that could prompt a pilot to overcompensate for temporarily strong tailwinds with high-engine power when it might not be warranted. 

“We recommend that some research be done to investigate instantaneous winds and this practice more broadly,” he said. “The one recommendation that we put forward is we feel that instantaneous winds should not be provided unless it’s asked for.”

Pilots could be unintentionally misled by the data point and think the wind is behaving a certain way when instantaneous winds represent a short, 3-second average.

The task force recommends that air-traffic control provide that data point only upon request. Most pilots do not fully understand what it means, as Aspen is the only airport to give instantaneous-winds data. But a pilot familiar with Aspen’s use of that data could still request it, Baker explained.

Airport Director Dan Bartholemew noted that wind is measured in one spot on the runway about midfield, but the airport is looking into installing additional sensors.

The air-traffic control tower is open to the suggestion and already leaning toward implementation, according to task-force members. 

A new instrument approach

Most aircraft land at the Aspen airport following instrument flight rules, which includes instrument approaches that direct pilots specifically how and where to land. 

The most commonly used approach — the RWY 15 LOC DME-E — is “unusually steep” at about a 6.5-degree descent and follows a step-down approach. The approach is somewhat like going down a flight of stairs, with the aircraft moving forward, descending somewhat abruptly, and moving a bit forward again. 

The new approach suggested in the recommendations would have an approximate 4.5-degree angle of descent (The report said 3 degrees is an industry standard, so the new approach is still steeper than the norm due to terrain limitations) and would have aircraft move more like going down a slide than down stairs. The approach would also require planes to fly over Triangle Peak in Woody Creek by about 1,000 feet closer. 

The approach would also trade ground-based navigation for satellite navigation, which the report suggests would protect the navigation reliability from variables like weather or power-outage impacts. 

Some members of the public expressed concerns over safety or noise impacts to Woody Creek residents, but task-force members assured the commissioners that the new approach is safe and would be quieter because of reduced stress on aircraft engines “sliding” to the runway as opposed to “going down stairs” to the runway. 

“We don’t want to create a new scenario where suddenly airplanes are buzzing houses in Woody Creek,” Baker said. 

And Bartholomew supported the safety and efficacy of the proposed new approach.

“Instrument approaches are rigorously designed and tested by the FAA. Crossing Triangle Peak at 1,000 feet versus 2,000 feet is still a significant margin of safety. The lower, final elevation on approach is made possible due to the increased precision of the navigational equipment utilized during the approach providing at least the same margin of safety as the existing approach procedure,” he wrote in an email to The Aspen Times. “A shallower approach is typically safer since it reduces the pilot’s workload and is more aligned with typical aircraft design. A constant shallow approach in the new approach design versus the current steep step down will also likely be quieter since the pilot will not have to adjust throttle settings as dramatically. A steeper approach may also generate more airframe noise.”

Calls to the air-traffic control tower seeking data on the frequency of missed approaches were not immediately returned. 

Task-force members and airport staff assured the commissioners that pilots would quickly adopt the new approach, as air-traffic control towers tend to pick the easiest, most modern approach. And that the current approach is not popular among pilots due its difficulty. 

Pilot-education campaign

And the final of the task force’s priorities among its recommendations is programming to bolster pilot education on the Aspen airport and its unique challenges. 

Elements to the proposed, mountain flying safety campaign include: printed flight-safety materials and guides, a pilot safety web page with training videos, charted entry and exit routes made in partnership with experts, a video on mountain aviation weather, safety articles, safety partnerships, safety symposiums, delivery systems for all safety materials, and more.

The recommendations encourage partnership with relevant organizations like the Federal Aviation Administration, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associations, and others to produce and distribute safety content. 

Task force Chair Barry Vaughn said that pilots are a safety-minded group who are inclined to learn any new skill that makes them safer, better pilots. 

He acknowledged that some of the suggested programming might change as the task force better understands what suits pilots needs best, but that pilots will consume safety materials specific to Aspen and mountain aviation.

“I know from my own personal experience … flying in southern California, pilots love training. They are eager for training because they want to be safe. They want to be competent,” he said. “If (pilots) have an opportunity to engage in a program … that’s going to make them a better, more competent pilot, they’ll jump at the chance. It is helpful to nudge that process along to incentivize participation in safety programs.”

The FAA’s greatest priorities are safety and access, as Denver Airports District Office Manager John Bauer told the Airport Advisory Board and commissioners in the spring, relating to the Airport Layout Plan. 

Any safety-education programming or material offered or produced must be optional as not to discriminate against anyone wishing to access the airport.

What’s next?

Commissioners unanimously approved the recommendations at their Aug. 9 meeting, with Commissioner Patti Clapper absent.  

Bartholomew noted that many of the recommendations, including the proposed new approach, would need to be vigorously tested by the FAA. Others will have to work their way through other federal regulatory agencies. 

Any new costs would be brought back to the commissioners, he said. And as the airport’s traffic is about 86% private planes and 14% commercial, he noted that the fixed-base Operator, Atlantic Aviation, could take responsibility for some of the recommendations relevant to private aircraft. 

The task force will discuss details of how to implement their recommendations and calculate costs at their monthly meetings.