Small Aircraft
Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 55; Flight Crew Total 875; Flight Crew Type 450
Situational Awareness; Confusion; Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Procedure; Chart Or Publication; Company Policy
I'm writing about a situation which I found as I flew across the country; rather than any specific incident. I ran into this at a number of points along the route; and I think it is a potential safety problem. At untowered airports; pilots are expected to self-announce their position; and pilots in the area listen to whatever the CTAF frequency is for the untowered airport to get some idea of who else is in the area. Of course; you're supposed to see and avoid; but being able to hear airplanes in the pattern helps a huge amount in knowing who you want to avoid; and where they are. The problem I found as I flew west is that the name of many airports as given on aeronautical charts is not the name which is used by pilots in the pattern; and in many cases; not the name used by ATC (when pointing out traffic to aircraft using flight following; for example). Airports are often named after local politicians or something like that; but known to everyone by their actual location. Local pilots may well be familiar with the local name for a field and its official name; but pilots from other areas can only go by what is on the chart. As an example; I stopped for fuel at YKN in Yankton; South Dakota; which is identified on the chart as 'GURNEY'. As I approached the field; I gave my usual position reports; something like 'Gurney traffic; [aircraft] xxxxx; entering left downwind for Runway 18 Gurney'; and so on. After I refueled and took off; I heard two airplanes reporting approaching and in the pattern at 'Yankton'. Potentially; a pilot approaching 'Gurney' and hearing 'Yankton Traffic' (or vice versa) might not know that they are in the pattern for the same airport; and the safety advantage derived from position reporting would be lost. This also applies to Air Traffic Control. When I checked in with ATC (Minneapolis Center) to request flight following and told them I had just departed 'Gurney'; I was asked for the identifier. When I said 'YKN'; the controller said 'you mean Yankton' - so evidently not only local pilots but also the local center used a different name for YKN than that on the charts. It only took a little time to get straightened out in my case; but what if he had reported traffic departing Yankton; and I only knew 'Gurney' from the chart? I suggest that this should be standardized - if an airport is known to its users as 'Ithaca'; but is officially 'Tompkins County Regional'; then both names should appear on the chart (as in that case; ITH; they do). If the chart says 'Gurney'; then a pilot approaching the field should reasonably expect that everyone will call it 'Gurney' and not 'Yankton' - either the chart should be changed to 'Yankton' or perhaps 'Yankton-Gurney'.
A pilot traveling cross country discovered a common CTAF communication identification problem when the charted airport name is different from the locally known name. An example is Yankton; SD airport's official identification is GURNEY; yet ATC and local pilots identify it as Yankton in radio transmissions causing confusion and potential conflict for transient pilots.