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• I work as a pilot for and HEMS service in Iowa. One of our pilots reported a tower under construction as he came upon it during a routine day flight. He reported the 2160 MSL top and LAT LONG to Quad City approach. They marked it on their radar and have announced aircraft proximity to the obstruction. The ATC are outstanding people by the way. Our base reported the tower to FSS and FAA as well. Finally after 2 months it showed up on a Notam as a tower with lights out of service. It should have been notam as a tower to be constructed before it went up almost a 1/4 mile in the sky. It has not shown up as an update to MSA on approach plates or revised low enroute charts, let alone sectionals. The tower top represents an obstruction increase of 800 feet above any other tower in a 20 mile radius. How many more are erected, that we have not found. FSS advises they have no power to check out why there was no notam filed prior to erection of the tower or issue a notam based on our phone call, by the way. Hopefully, no one will encounter this in hard IMC thinking they are safe at the published MSA for the approaches at Quad City ( Moline, IL ) Vic Posted October 31, 2008 8:51 PM
• Terrain avoidance equipment is nice but that's not what is needed immediately. Sure every accident ends with ground contact but we need help in avoiding it while still operating close to the ground which is what makes helo ops different from airplane ops. After 18 years in this business and 23 years with the Army I believe we need right now the FAA to mandate NVGs; SPIFR competency in single piloted helos and active TCAS equipment. Ed Strazzini Posted October 29, 2008 10:31 PM