Member's Home Forums General Discussion Mexico Mexico Aeronautical & Regulatory Top 5 mistakes pilots make with Mexican ATC

For many years we have been fortunate to have a good working relationship with the top management of Mexico’s ATC (SENEAM) and with many of the air traffic controllers at the regional levels. Thanks to that partnership, we met with over 60 ATC stations around Mexico and they have shared with us a list of the mistakes made by US and Canadian pilots that have created problems for them which potentially could have created safety of flight issues or an enforcement action. The following are the Top 5 most common mistakes from that list.

1. Airspace violations: (IFR and VFR)
a. VFR: By far, the most complaints were for VFR flights. The complaints include: violating Mexican Restricted airspace (MMR#), not aware of lateral and vertical dimensions of Terminal Control Areas (TCA), entering a TCA without authorization, not aware of Mexican VFR reporting points, unfamiliar with Mexican VFR approach corridors inside Mexican TCAs, VFR aircraft penetrating IFR approach path corridors in a TCA resulting in loss of separation between VFR and IFR aircraft. Most popular destinations like Cancun, Toluca, Puerto Vallarta and the 2 Cabos airports have approach radar, but most Mexican airports do not so the controller relies on pilots to correctly report their position and to fly the proper VFR or IFR procedures. The controllers have no way of monitoring aircraft position.
b. IFR: Failing to report position as requested by ATC resulting in loss of separation.

2. Non-standard phraseology/”slang”: (IFR and VFR). When communicating with foreign ATC, language and accents are already a potential issue, so we should avoid adding to that mix with non-standard phraseology like “fish finder”, “here comes the flash”, “read you five by five”. Another error is using marketing names rather than the full tail number e.g. “Baron”, “Meridian”, “Encore”, “Vision Jet” versus “november one, two, three, alpha, bravo”. Stick to standard phraseology, no need to stir up even more confusion.

3. Flying, or attempting to fly, VFR at night. (VFR) There is no night VFR in Mexico. Some aircraft legally depart the USA at night under VFR but as soon as they cross into Mexican airspace, they are in violation.

4. Unable to report position using Radial and DME. (IFR and VFR) Many ATC stations are non-radar or the existing radar has blind spots at lower altitudes. In a non-radar environment, Mexican ATC depends on accurate position reporting by aircraft for separation using radial and DME. Some pilots struggle to get their modern avionics to give them the information they need to satisfy this requirement or incorrectly interpret/communicate their position relative to a VOR or to an airport. Remember, most Mexican airports do not have approach radar so controller rely on correct position reporting by pilots.

5. Failing to get NOTAM’s (IFR and VFR). Enough said.

By sharing these points, we hope to improve the communication and experience of flying within Mexican airspace to avoid potential losses of separation, airspace violations and penalty actions. Attached are examples of a Mexican Terminal Are Chart and a Mexican VFR Approach chart with VFR reporting points. We hope that you find this information useful.