Non-towered airport

A non-towered airport does not have a control tower. Aircraft pilots do not thus receive
instructions from a traffic controller. They instead follow recommended communication
procedures and operations. The procedures tend to differ from one country to another. However,
standard arrival and departure procedures are followed by all pilots operating in this airport.
When a non-towered airport lies within controlled airspace, then arrival and departure
instructions and clearances are made from a remote control unit (Yang et al., 2019). Pilots and
crew are required to have onboard the necessary charts including a visual flight rules (VFR)
sectional chart as well as airport diagrams to guide the pilot during landing and take off. pilots
are also required to familiarize themselves with the location, the airspace as well as landmarks
(Muia & Johnson, 2015). They are required to learn the communications frequency and the
orientation of the runways.
In most non-towered airports that fall outside controlled airspace, radio operations such
as UNICOM are used to help pilots during arrival, departure, and when maneuvering on the
ground (Muia & Johnson, 2015). The operators of these radios are not mandated to offer
clearances or instructions to pilots. However, they can provide advisories to pilots and inform
them of runway conditions, weather conditions, and similar concerns. In some instances, some
non-towered airports may have temporary towers operating to help control traffic for a few days.
This may happen when high traffic is expected on such a tower due to an occasion. A temporary
tower may be set up inside an airport building. Where such a building is non-existent, a
temporary tower may include a chair and table with portable binoculars and transmitters (Muia &
Johnson, 2015). In other countries such as Canada, it is a requirement that pilots use mandatory
traffic advisory airports, which are non-towered airports whose operations are similar to those in

towered airports. It is compulsory for pilots to contact controllers on the ground before operating
within such zones. Radio operators issue just advisories and not instructions.
Non-towered airports are good when training students. They are not as busy and
procedural as towered airports. Thus, before students learn how to navigate their way into and
out of an airport, a non-towered airport would be ideal. Besides, there are minimal distractions in
these airports, and this helps build a student’s confidence before they can progress to more
advanced phases of training (Muia & Johnson, 2015). Learning to control an aircraft can be
tough for new students. This, combined with having to handle many other instructions and
procedures in a towered airport, can affect the student’s confidence. Thus, these airports provide
good training grounds for students at the beginning of their training courses.
One of the disadvantages of using a non-towered airport is that pilots are not required to
use radio to report their intentions or positions when operating within such airspaces. This is
dangerous as it can lead to crashes between pilots who are not aware of each other’s presence or
position. Also, in such an airport, some pilots may fail to use the runway as required. Since radio
operators do not instruct or clear pilots, the space is largely uncontrolled. This is dangerous and
can lead to accidents. For example, in 1996, on non-towered airspace in Quincy Airport, Illinois,
King Air aircraft and United Express flight 5925 collided (Roman, 1997). The pilot of King Air
failed to make his intention to take off known, leading to a collision with the incoming aircraft.

References

Muia, M. J., & Johnson, M. E. (2015). Evaluating methods for counting aircraft operations at
non-towered airports (No. Project 03-27).
Roman, L. (1997). National Transportation Safety Board Washington, DC.
Yang, C., Mott, J. H., Hardin, B., Zehr, S., & Bullock, D. M. (2019). Technology assessment to
improve operations counts at non-towered airports. Transportation research
record, 2673(3), 44-50.