IFR Priority

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Bob Turner

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Last week a King Air made a statement on the tower frequency that went like this: " King Air ZZZ, we are on an active IFR Clearance, and a light aircraft just flew too close to us!" The tower made no comment.

The King Air, as near as I could tell from the transmissions, was roughly seven miles out on the ILS. That is, he was in class E airspace, and in VFR weather conditions (no clouds, visibility around 30 miles).

King Air pilots often make the same mistakes the rest of us make, but assuming an IFR clearance means you have the right-of-way over VFR aircraft could actually be dangerous. I haven't reviewed the regulations within the last week, but I am pretty sure that IFR aircraft are still subject to all right-of-way rules even in class Bravo, and I think the Controller's Handbook explicitly addresses this for class Delta.
 
Anytime they are in VFR conditions they are responsible to see and avoid aircraft that may not be under positive control.

If they were in IFR conditions and noticed an airplane zoom by unannounced they'd have a case.
 
Controllers do give IFR aircraft right of way. That’s why they will deny vfr flight following but can’t deny an IFR route. Every airport I’ve worked at, traffic pattern airplanes are sent around and even broken off on short final for an inbound ifr aircraft even in the most VFR of days. As far as being outside of the airspace, I agree, see and avoid is everyone’s responsibility in vfr conditions.

There was actually a day that a falcon was doing patterns for MX and tower broke off his final for a IFR Cessna 172.
 
I believe that practice is contrary to the controller's handbook. I shall look.
 
I agree but up until the aircraft is in short final, ATC can’t tell them if they can or can’t see the airport. It can be beautiful vfr with 2000 foot ceilings with a full traffic pattern, but there can still be an aircraft in the airspace waiting to pop out of the clouds on final. So IFR aircraft get the special placement. Just like on a sunny vfr day I always hear “extend your downwind for an ifr inbound”
 
Controllers Handbook - Order 7110.65W, para. 2.1.4





NOTE−

It is solely the pilot’s prerogative to cancel an IFR flight plan. However, a pilot’s retention of an IFR flight plan does not afford priority over VFR aircraft. For example, this does not preclude the requirement for the pilot of an arriving IFR aircraft to adjust his/her flight path, as necessary, to enter a traffic pattern in sequence with arriving VFR aircraft.
 
Clifford Daly said:
Controllers do give IFR aircraft right of way. That’s why they will deny vfr flight following but can’t deny an IFR route. Every airport I’ve worked at, traffic pattern airplanes are sent around and even broken off on short final for an inbound ifr aircraft even in the most VFR of days. As far as being outside of the airspace, I agree, see and avoid is everyone’s responsibility in vfr conditions.

There was actually a day that a falcon was doing patterns for MX and tower broke off his final for a IFR Cessna 172.
Click to expand...
My understanding is different. The only right of way is granted by the laws of physics. As I learned it, ATC responsibility is to keep IFR traffic from hitting each other. Period. As stated above, in non-IMC the see and avoid rule applies.

Once you get turned over to the tower it is a bit awkward for them to have a plane on the glideslope do a 360 for spacing. I was at my local field last week beating my landing gear to death and it was quite busy in the pattern. Tower told a guy on a practice ILS to kick rocks way earlier than expected. Far enough I never even saw the guy.
 
Bob Turner said:
Controllers Handbook - Order 7110.65W, para. 2.1.4





NOTE−

It is solely the pilot’s prerogative to cancel an IFR flight plan. However, a pilot’s retention of an IFR flight plan does not afford priority over VFR aircraft. For example, this does not preclude the requirement for the pilot of an arriving IFR aircraft to adjust his/her flight path, as necessary, to enter a traffic pattern in sequence with arriving VFR aircraft.
Click to expand...

So the tower decides when I have a visual on the runway? Cause I’m pretty sure if I bust out at 1500 feet that it is possible to hit clouds again or loose sight. It is not up to the tower to make those decisions so they aren’t the ones to tell you to enter the pattern on a downwind. I guess they could have you fly a circling approach and get into the pattern but that sounds like more work than just making a 172 who’s done 8 touch and go’s, to go around.
 
No - read my excerpt carefully. It has nothing to do with what the tower decides to do, and nothing to do with whether an IFR pilot sees the runway. It says that an IFR aircraft does not have right-of-way over a VFR aircraft. It is not law, but there is no law that says otherwise. The King Air driver was just broadcasting his ignorance.
 
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