As would usually be the case on a good VFR weekend our pilotand his wife, both pilots, were taking their Katana DA20-A1 on one of theirfavorite flights from Ottawa, Ontario (CYOW) to Lachute, Quebec (CSE4) forbreakfast. Lachute, a small general aviation airport in the Montreal, Quebecarea, is a favorite destination for them because there are plenty of openfields en route (just in case), a relatively low volume of traffic east ofOttawa, a friendly staff, and great breakfasts. They also provide a free taxi serviceinto town and bikes if you want to get some exercise on your way there.

As usual, after departing CYOW, Ottawa TerminalATC cleared our pilots to their cruising altitude of 3000 feet on aheading of 095 toward Dalkeith, Ontario. This would take them south of the Hawkesburygliding area. Not abnormal for this altitude, Ottawa Terminal lost radarcontact approximately 25 nautical miles east of Ottawa.

The usual routine would normally have our pilots switch to theen route frequency for about 15 minutes without radar and traffic coverage followedby a call to Montreal center once a little closer to Montreal to continuewith flight following. On this particular Sunday, however, Ottawa Terminal suggestedthat our pilots contact Montreal center immediately for flight following which,while very unusual for this route, was very much appreciated by our pilots.

Five minutes later they received a traffic advisory fromMontreal center pointing out traffic heading their way at 3 o'clock, 5 nauticalmiles and 2,600 feet - unconfirmed. Thanking ATC for the call, our pilots startedthe search for the traffic.

“My wife, the eagle eye, picked up the aircraft almostinstantly but I did not see it until it was about 2 miles south of ourposition” informs our gentleman pilot. “This high wing Cessna eventually passeddirectly below our low wing Katana with approximately 400 feet of verticalseparation on would have been (if not for the 400 foot buffer) an absolute 90degree collision course!”

Our pilot asks “With two pilots in our plane at all times weare both diligent in looking for traffic but I wonder how much longer it wouldhave taken us to see this Cessna without the help of Montreal center ATC givingus the "heads-up" while it was still 5 miles out? How long was beforethe Cessna even saw us?”

Continues our pilot “While there really was little dangerwith 400 feet of vertical separation and the aircraft clearly in sight it doesreinforce the idea that proper scanning techniques are a must and that thelittle airplane/big sky theory really doesn't wash even when you are flying inareas of very low traffic with 15 SM VFR visibility.”

Our pilot concludes “We'd like to thank all of the ATCstaff who help us every day and let them know that VFR pilots really doappreciate flight following at all times when their time and workloads permit.”

I’ll second that!

Fly safe(r).

Anthony Nalli is the Executive Producer of the newtelevision series “The Aviators” (www.TheAviators.TV) and a staunch collisionavoidance advocate operating the site PCAS.ca which is dedicated to theimplementation of affordable collision avoidance devices in General Aviationwith a mission to eliminate mid-air collisions and dramatically reduce closecalls. Anthony can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 1-888-PCAS-123 (GTA:416-225-9266), and www.PCAS.ca