each airport in the national airspace system has unique and distinct characteristics
which can sometimes lead pilots to use the wrong surface in taxi
takeoff or landing operations let's take a look at some of these areas from the flight deck
columbus airport is a small to medium sized primarily general aviation airport along with
itinerant business aircraft it also serves the occasional military and commercial flight as well
it is located on the north end of the city of columbus and is 10 miles north of the lawson
auxiliary airfield fort benning and its associated restricted airspace began just 3.5 miles south of
columbus and pilots approaching from the east and south must make themselves aware of this airspace
in order to avoid possible conflicts the runway configuration consists of two intersecting runways
the primary runway 624 and the smaller runway one three three one the taxiway system provides
access to all facilities located primarily on the north and west sides of the airport
full length parallel taxiways provide access to all runway ends
two hotspots are identified at the field hotspot 1 is located at the intersection
of taxiways alpha charlie and delta just to the north side of the intersection of both runways
the opportunity for pilot error is obvious as this is a potentially confusing configuration
hotspot 2 is located just southwest of hotspot 1 across runway 1331
while the number of taxiways involved is fewer the challenge is the same pilots are cleared to taxi
to a specific point on the airport and instructed to hold short of either runway occasionally pilots
miss the above ground signage and the taxiway markings and cross the hold short line pilots
need to remember that a specific clearance is always required to cross any runway active or not
not listed as a hotspot but no less important is the issue of pilots being cleared runway 6 taxi
via charlie hold short ils critical area and then crossing the ils critical area marking at columbus
the ils runway 6 critical area is located just west of taxiway foxtrot on taxiway charlie it may
seem to be located a long way from the approach end of the runway however the airport geometry
requires the distance to ensure non-interference with aircraft conducting ils approaches to runway
6. being aware of the distance to the runway may help pilots maintain their situational awareness
in this area the last area of concern has to do with aircraft parked on the north side of
the airport primarily at the fbo or in the hangars pilots are reminded that prior to taxiing onto any
movement area they must receive the appropriate atc clearance november 39 quebec roger runway
six taxi via charlie cross runway one three at charlie here are a few techniques that
may help pilots avoid making these types of mistakes one defer all head down activities
until either holding short of the runway or parked on the appropriate ramp or hangar
two actively scan for signage and markings that indicate runways or converging taxiways
three use a moving map display or airport diagram to positively identify your own aircraft position
and route prior to taxi 4. most importantly if you are ever in doubt of any clearance or instruction
hold short and ask the tower they are there to help being aware of the hotspots
and other configuration issues at the columbus airport will help pilots make better decisions
and along with the atc tower keep the operation safe and efficient we hope this short video helps
you prepare for your trip to the columbus georgia airport it's always better to know before you go