Safety concern
It is difficult for pilots to identify other aircraft through visual observation alone.
The ATSB often receives reports from pilots that another aircraft is flying too close to them in uncontrolled airspace. Not surprisingly, three quarters of these reports involve pilots flying within 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometres) of a non-controlled aerodrome.
In nearly three quarters of all near-collisions reported to the ATSB, at least one pilot had no prior warning of the other aircraft in their vicinity.
Insufficient communication between pilots operating in the same area is the most common cause of safety incidents near non-controlled aerodromes.