A Lieberma wrote:

Ummm, situational awareness comes to mind???? A pilot bumbling around a
busy airport and not seeing the airport sure sounds like an emergency
situation developing to me.


We're not talking about busy airports. Busy airports have Class B or C
airspace. Since we're talking about flight following we're limited to
airports in Class D, E, and G airspace.



Surely you can't see a bumbling pilot poking along through a pattern of
an airport not causing problems or an emergency situation that may
directly affect the safety of flight. Big sky theory will fail.

Note, it may not even be the bumbling pilot, but another pilot that has
to take evasive action due to the lack of situational awareness from the
lost pilot. Yep, a developing emergency.


Sure can. That's why the pilot should be on tower frequency or CTAF
when he gets close to the field, not on flight following.



obviously you are playing some type of semantic game as I really have no
clue what you are trying to say above.....


I'm trying to say a good controller won't advise aircraft on flight
following to report the field in sight.



My take for what it's worth, if a pilot does not see an airport within a
couple of miles FROM THE AIRPORT, then you have a potential emergency
situation developing. Loss of situational awareness surely can be
considered an emergency. As stated in an earlier post, this is not
normal that I have seen in my short 5 years of flying.


Nonsense. Not seeing the airport doesn't mean you're lost, it just
means you haven't sighted the airport yet.



If you are trying to say that the pilot doesn't see an airport from lets
say 15 miles vs 13 miles out from the airport, then yeah, that isn't a
problem.


I'm trying to say there's no reason for a controller to advise aircraft
on flight following to report the field in sight. Such a report has no
purpose. When you get close to the field, say ten miles or so, you
should be talking to the tower or on CTAF, not on flight following.