CHAPTER TWO
SAFETY AND AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AT EPPLEY
- Until the pandemic, Omaha air traffic control had three separate groups of controllers to provide the services that we should have under the FAA rules for airports under “Class C” airspace (Omaha is Class C). We (pilots, regardless of size of aircraft) call when we are going flying, in the following order: (1) Clearance Delivery, (2) Ground Control, and (3) Control Tower. In the past, as mentioned above, different controllers were handling each separate service.
- Currently, it is very common to hear the same voice answering all three frequencies (Omaha Clearance, Omaha Ground, and Omaha Tower), and it’s very common to sense they are under pressure and sometimes overwhelmed. They are severely understaffed.
- If there ever was a legitimate concern about the “safety issues” of increased traffic at Eppley and the congestion of air traffic control services, it would be now, not 8 years ago.
- A few weeks ago, an airplane from the Council Bluffs flight school landed with their landing gear retracted (what we pilots call a “wheels-up landing”), severely damaging the airplane’s belly, the engines, and the propellers. If that had happened at Eppley, it would have closed the airport for hours. Curiously, this happened during a final exam of the pilot to obtain a certification to fly that kind of aircraft (twin, retractable gear). With an FAA designated pilot examiner. In other words, they should have known better.