Top 5 mistakes US Pilots make in Mexico
For many years, CST Flight Services has collaborated with the Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) in different countries to foster a better understanding of the needs and expectations of US and Canadian General Aviation (GA) traveling to their countries. At the same time, the dialogue also unveiled issues caused by visiting GA that created situations ranging from possible penalty cases to loss of separation and safety of flight. Nobody on either side of the equation wants to see anybody get into trouble and much less be put into danger. So, as part of this collaboration we focused on one of the most traveled destinations for US and Canadian aircraft, Mexico.
Mexico’s CAA is split into 2 entities; one is the government agency called Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil or more commonly referred to as AFAC. This agency is charged with establishing guidelines and procedures as well as supervising and controlling aviation laws and services by air operators. Essentially, they are like the FSDO part of the FAA in the US. The AFAC are the ones that ensure that domestic and foreign operators are complying with the laws and regulations related to the issuance of operating permits and the requirements for using those permits. For GA, they are the ones that issue the entry permits into Mexico for private and commercial operators as well as conducting ramp checks.
The air traffic control in Mexico is run by a separate and independent government entity known as Servicios a la Navegación en el Espacio Aéreo Mexicano, or more commonly known as SENEAM. SENEAM operates the control towers, radar sites, navigation aids and is responsible for the flow, order and aviation safety in the air. SENEAM is also responsible for the calculation, recording and management of Mexican airspace fees. When CST customers utilize CST’s online Mexican airspace calculator and payment App, this app utilizes information and data obtained by CST from SENEAM during our 15 years providing that service.
Emphasizing the importance of aviation safety in the air, we approached SENEAM to determine what are the most common errors committed by GA. SENEAM rose to the occasion and organized a massive video conference at their central headquarters in Mexico City which included CST as well as controllers and managers from every single tower and radar site in the country. The purpose of the call was to ascertain from each location’s perspective what were the most prevalent issues that they face with GA so that we could then compile a master list of the most common mistakes. As a result of this exercise, we extracted the top 5 errors made by GA pilots as follows:
Special Use Airspace (SUA) and Terminal Control Areas (TMA’s in ICAO-speak) Violating SUA’s and failing to know the airspace dimensions and limits TMA’s is a major problem. While usually not an issue when flying IFR in the US, many TMA’s in Mexico are non-radar environments. In the US, a controller can issue altitude restrictions during descent and climb to prevent IFR aircraft from penetrating SUA’s. However, in a non-radar environment, it becomes a greater challenge, especially under heavy workloads. VFR aircraft are especially guilty of this, especially if they are not talking to the TMA controller and not making sure that they remain outside of the TMA’s and the SUA’s. Therefore, regardless of IFR or VFR, it is essential to have up-to-date charts of not only the enroute environment but also the TMA’s as well. Hermosillo and Cancun/Cozumel are two areas that were the most vocal of SUA violations.
Correct VFR Procedures: Not following VFR procedures and flying under VFR at night. The US is one of the few countries in the world that allows VFR at night. Aside from very specific exceptions near the US-Mexico border, VFR IS NOT allowed at night in Mexico. Unfortunately, there have been instances where GA aircraft have departed non-towered airfields at night and then attempted to integrate themselves into the Mexican ATC system. Mexican controllers will not be expecting this and it will likely result in a violation. However, as Mexico has very limited radar coverage, especially at low altitude, and large areas of unlit terrain, SENEAM controllers will probably not be able to identify and communicate terrain alerts to VFR aircraft which can lead to far worse consequences.
Mexico publishes specific VFR procedures for many TMA’s like the Terminal Area Charts in the US for Class B airspaces showing VFR corridors. Unfortunately, these VFR procedures are only found in the Mexican AIP which is only obtained via subscription and is in Spanish. CST publishes the VFR procedures for Mexican TMA’s on its member website. Again, controllers from the Hermosillo and Cancun/Cozumel TMA’s were the most vocal of VFR aircraft failing to follow correct VFR procedures and creating conflicts between VFR and IFR aircraft operations.
Aviation “Slang”. Non-standard names for aircraft models and equipment such as “Bonanza”, “Skylane”, “Twinkie”, “Fishfinder”, “in the box”, “flash”, etc. English spoken with a Spanish accent and Spanish speaking controllers unfamiliar with English aviation “slang” can make for a dangerous combination. Improper communications cause confusion, distractions and misinterpretations which could ultimately lead to safety of flight consequences. Pilots need to maintain a professional demeanor and stick to official aviation phraseology. It is also important to note that ICAO English phraseology has some slight differences to FAA English phraseology so it would not hurt to get a hold of the ICAO phraseology and review the most common phrases used when flying to identify any potential conflicts in advance.
Unable to report position using radial and DME. As pointed out above, Mexico has limited radar coverage and many TMA’s do not have the ability to monitor traffic on a radar screen. Consequently, controllers will ask for aircraft position information in radial and DME relative to a specified VOR. As most airports in Mexico have a VOR co-located on the field, that makes situational awareness easier for the controller. However, in the age of RNAV and GPS, many US and Canadian pilots have forgotten this ability, and it is very important to regain it before traveling to Mexico. You will be expected to know:
• What VOR you are referencing.
• What radial you are on FROM the VOR.
• Your distance from the VOR.
Mexican controllers will rely on pilot position reporting to separate aircraft ascending on an airway from aircraft descending in the opposite direction on the same airway. Unfortunately, we have observed US GA pilots struggle with this reporting ability causing Mexican controllers to misunderstand the aircraft’s correct position leading to a complete loss of situational awareness and separation.Failing to get NOTAM’s before flight. We recommend to check NOTAM’s for airspace and airports before every flight. Then check the NOTAM’s again. And then check the NOTAM’s again. Things can change very quickly in the international environment so don’t drop your guard. Sometimes NOTAM’s appear at the last minute and can inform you in time that there is no fuel at your destination or that your arrival airport has been closed. In the US, we are accustomed to these issues being identified and broadcast and published well in advance, this is not necessarily the case in the international environment, so maintain your guard. Many Mexican controllers complain of pilots not being aware of things published in NOTAMs.
BONUS: While not mentioned by SENEAM, there is a common occurrence that we have observed when pilots use some of the more popular flight planning apps on the market. If the flight planning App allows you to select a “File this” option for a flight plan from an airport in a foreign country to another airport, bear in mind that in many countries you will still be required to manually file a flight plan with AIS at the departure airport. As there may be preferred routes in effect for the departure airport, the actual flight plan route filed manually and presented to ATC may not be the one you had selected in the flight planning App. You should always verify the flight plan route that is filed locally, which ATC expects you to fly. Otherwise, the route that you think was filed may not be what you are expected to fly by ATC and if you receive a “cleared as filed” when you obtain your departure clearance, the recipe for a deviation and loss of separation is in place. We have seen this happen to more than one GA aircraft some of which had serious consequences. Therefore, we recommend that you ALWAYS review the flight plan filed locally and request a full-route clearance when obtaining your IFR clearance in a foreign country to eliminate any possibility of route errors.