Flight instructor talks about dangers at Watsonville Airport following deadly crash
WATSONVILLE – Pilots are speaking out on flight safety and proper procedure after the deadly midair plane crash in Watsonville on Thursday.
Flight instructor Orhan Baser has been flying for more than 15 years. Even before his students can fly on their own, they need to know every safety procedure.
"For every state of the flight, there's a checklist portion. From pre-flight checklist, engine run, taxi, pre taxi, before takeoff, run up checklist, climb checklist, cruise checklist, descend checklist," Baser told KPIX 5. "Checklist. Checklist. Checklist."
He teaches his students to watch for other pilots in the sky and to always communicate with them especially at airports without air traffic control towers.
"Non-towered airports, you tune into the dedicated frequencies and you talk to that frequency. Everybody else listens to them, so they know your intention," said Baser. "What leg you are. How far you are. What's your intention? How are you going to come to the airport? Fly over, turn left or right. For every leg, we communicate and others hear that."
Baser said the deadly midair plane crash at the non-towered Watsonville airport likely could have been avoided.
The audio recording appears to have captured the last words between both pilots. It's a key piece of information that NTSB investigators will be focusing on.
"Watsonville area traffic twin Cessna. 740. One mile straight in. 2-0. Full stop. Looking for traffic on left base," said the pilot of the twin-engine aircraft.
"I see you're behind me," the single-engine pilot replied.
"Gonna go around then. Because you're coming at me pretty quick, man," said the single-engine pilot.
Only a few seconds later, others on the same radio frequency report the midair collision.
"Everybody please be advised on airport Watsonville. We have couple of accidents. Please be advised. Watsonville," a pilot was heard saying after the crash.
"I heard one was coming in straight in there," said Baser. "We don't come in straight in there at a non-towered airport. We check out. We get into traffic pattern, check the other traffic, and then go to the final."
Baser knows the Watsonville airport very well. He says he's had to tell his students to avoid the airport because it just wasn't safe.
"Sometimes I have to leave the airport because some people are weak in communication, some people were not following the proper procedures to enter the traffic pattern, so I found it dangerous and left the traffic pattern. And sometimes I confronted people and said you're doing the wrong thing."
Other flight instructors who spoke to KPIX also agreed with Baser. They said it's important when flying to see and to avoid. They said ultimately it's up to the pilots for their own safety.