Narrative:

Taxiing onto runway 30 after watching 2 planes land; both of which made radio calls; I was disturbed to hear the first call from a glider that must have been on short final to the runway I was taking. 'I'm landing in the grass;' he stated. I must have missed him on final. I'm sure he didn't radio. He had no transponder; so he didn't appear on my skywatch; which was on standby anyway; since I hadn't departed. It was a simple case of 'didn't see; couldn't avoid.' later that night; I telephoned the man who runs the local glider operations to discuss the potential incident. He says this happens all the time. He himself has had to go over to the grass at least 4 times. I explained that this was; strictly speaking; my fault; but that radio calls would help. Nevertheless; this airport has an increasingly dangerous mix; glider activity; training helicopters doing automatic-rotations parallel to runways; lots of training aircraft shooting approachs against the active runway (when runway 23 is active; they're shooting to minimums of runway 5); increasing amounts of turbines; using crossing runways to the active because they have the required runway length; all in proximity to the ADIZ and P40. Next time; I'll try to check the approach path better. I'll turn on my skywatch before taxiing. And this airport; fdk; really; really needs a tower. It's an accident waiting to happen.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A PA34-220T PLT TAXIED ONTO RWY 30 AT FDK CAUSING A GLIDER ON SHORT FINAL TO LAND ON THE GRASS ADJACENT TO THE RWY.

Narrative: TAXIING ONTO RWY 30 AFTER WATCHING 2 PLANES LAND; BOTH OF WHICH MADE RADIO CALLS; I WAS DISTURBED TO HEAR THE FIRST CALL FROM A GLIDER THAT MUST HAVE BEEN ON SHORT FINAL TO THE RWY I WAS TAKING. 'I'M LNDG IN THE GRASS;' HE STATED. I MUST HAVE MISSED HIM ON FINAL. I'M SURE HE DIDN'T RADIO. HE HAD NO XPONDER; SO HE DIDN'T APPEAR ON MY SKYWATCH; WHICH WAS ON STANDBY ANYWAY; SINCE I HADN'T DEPARTED. IT WAS A SIMPLE CASE OF 'DIDN'T SEE; COULDN'T AVOID.' LATER THAT NIGHT; I TELEPHONED THE MAN WHO RUNS THE LCL GLIDER OPS TO DISCUSS THE POTENTIAL INCIDENT. HE SAYS THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. HE HIMSELF HAS HAD TO GO OVER TO THE GRASS AT LEAST 4 TIMES. I EXPLAINED THAT THIS WAS; STRICTLY SPEAKING; MY FAULT; BUT THAT RADIO CALLS WOULD HELP. NEVERTHELESS; THIS ARPT HAS AN INCREASINGLY DANGEROUS MIX; GLIDER ACTIVITY; TRAINING HELIS DOING AUTO-ROTATIONS PARALLEL TO RWYS; LOTS OF TRAINING ACFT SHOOTING APCHS AGAINST THE ACTIVE RWY (WHEN RWY 23 IS ACTIVE; THEY'RE SHOOTING TO MINIMUMS OF RWY 5); INCREASING AMOUNTS OF TURBINES; USING XING RWYS TO THE ACTIVE BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE REQUIRED RWY LENGTH; ALL IN PROX TO THE ADIZ AND P40. NEXT TIME; I'LL TRY TO CHK THE APCH PATH BETTER. I'LL TURN ON MY SKYWATCH BEFORE TAXIING. AND THIS ARPT; FDK; REALLY; REALLY NEEDS A TWR. IT'S AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.