‘Methow Valley State, November Eight Four Charlie, four miles west for east landing runway one three,’ announced Brush into the empty airspace. The little-used airport had an unmanned control tower except when fires erupted in the mountains. Then it became chaos as hundreds of firefighters and planes used it as a firebase and temporary flight controllers moved in.
This arrangement was typical of thousands of small airports scattered throughout the country. Without air traffic controllers, pilots talked blindly into their mikes and announced their position and altitude to anyone out there who was listening. Any pilots in the area should hear Brush’s announcement and be on the lookout, but there was no one. The airspace was completely devoid of other planes. He keyed the mike and announced
