COLLISION AVOIDANCE
All pilots must be alert to the potential for midair
collision and near midair collisions. The general operating
and flight rules in 14 CFR part 91 set forth the
concept of "See and Avoid." This concept requires
that vigilance shall be maintained at all times, by
each person operating an aircraft regardless of
whether the operation is conducted under instrument
flight rules (IFR) or visual flight rules (VFR). Pilots
should also keep in mind their responsibility for continuously
maintaining a vigilant lookout regardless of
the type of aircraft being flown and the purpose of the
flight. Most midair collision accidents and reported
near midair collision incidents occur in good VFR
weather conditions and during the hours of daylight.
Most of these accident/incidents occur within 5 miles
of an airport and/or near navigation aids.

The "See and Avoid" concept relies on knowledge
of the limitations of the human eye, and the use of
proper visual scanning techniques to help compensate
for these limitations. The importance of, and
the proper techniques for, visual scanning should
be taught to a student pilot at the very beginning of
flight training. The competent flight instructor
should be familiar with the visual scanning and
collision avoidance information contained in
Advisory Circular (AC) 90-48, Pilots' Role in
Collision Avoidance, and the Aeronautical
Information Manual (AIM).

There are many different types of clearing procedures.
Most are centered around the use of clearing turns. The
essential idea of the clearing turn is to be certain that
the next maneuver is not going to proceed into another
airplane's flightpath. Some pilot training programs
have hard and fast rules, such as requiring two 90°

turns in opposite directions before executing any
training maneuver. Other types of clearing procedures
may be developed by individual flight instructors.
Whatever the preferred method, the flight instructor
should teach the beginning student an effective clearing
procedure and insist on its use. The student pilot
should execute the appropriate clearing procedure
before all turns and before executing any training
maneuver. Proper clearing procedures, combined
with proper visual scanning techniques, are the most
effective strategy for collision avoidance.

RUNWAY INCURSION AVOIDANCE
A runway incursion is any occurrence at an airport
involving an aircraft, vehicle, person, or object on the
ground that creates a collision hazard or results in a
loss of separation with an aircraft taking off, landing,
or intending to land. The three major areas contributing
to runway incursions are:

• Communications,
• Airport knowledge, and
• Cockpit procedures for maintaining orientation.

Taxi operations require constant vigilance by the entire
flight crew, not just the pilot taxiing the airplane. This
is especially true during flight training operations.
Both the student pilot and the flight instructor need to
be continually aware of the movement and location of
other aircraft and ground vehicles on the airport
movement area. Many flight training activities are
conducted at non-tower controlled airports. The
absence of an operating airport control tower creates a
need for increased vigilance on the part of pilots operating
at those airports.