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If an aircraft was making a planned landing in a field/sports ground/other large flat area what landing procedures would be followed?

My thoughts are that it would be very similar to a non-towered airport, with self announcing and flying a bit of a pattern to check the landing area is clear.

Obviously this is more likely to apply to helicopter but it could potentially be a plane.

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    $\begingroup$ That field might actually be an airport... youtu.be/X1qLn_wf4uI?t=6m30s $\endgroup$
    – Michael Hampton
    Mar 19, 2017 at 21:57
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    $\begingroup$ @MichaelHampton nice video but I'm interested in the case where it's not an airport. Just a normal grass field. $\endgroup$
    – Notts90
    Mar 20, 2017 at 10:34

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Not just helicopters. It happens all the time in my neck of the woods (Alaska) in small planes with big bouncy tires. We probably have more "field landings" (called bush landings, or "off airport operations") than landings at actual airports. OK, well maybe not quite that many - but enough that my local aviation college has an entire semester course dedicated to it for it's professional piloting program.

The first act is usually a low pass to inspect the conditions and determine the best landing direction (if there is more than one option), assuming that the winds will allow it. If there are other aircraft in the area, which sometimes happens at popular hunting/fishing/floating drop-off locations or glacier tours, then self-announcing on frequency is done like at a non-towered airport. But, it's usually remote enough that it's not done.

Quite frequently, it's two planes for one party's charter - one to carry the people, and one to carry their gear. In that case, they're usually talking to each other the whole way, and know each other's intentions anyway.

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    $\begingroup$ Even in non-Alaskan parts of the country, such as Idaho & Nevada, there are a number airports which seem to differ from fields only in being marked on a sectional. The low pass is to scare deer and/or cows off the runway. $\endgroup$
    – jamesqf
    Mar 20, 2017 at 3:09
  • $\begingroup$ +1 for @jamesqf. I learned to fly at a 1900x25 rural airport with a cow field next door. I didn't like flying at night there because the cows would often break through their fence and graze near or on the runway. We used to do an initial low pass over the runway to scare off the livestock that you could pretty much only see by their eyes. There were a couple of nights where I had to make a couple of passes before they moved. Cows aren't bright. :-/ $\endgroup$
    – Shawn
    Mar 20, 2017 at 19:30
  • $\begingroup$ @Shawn: One of my unfondest memories is of having just gotten wheels on the ground at Cedarville (extreme NE California) when a herd of deer ran across the runway. $\endgroup$
    – jamesqf
    Mar 20, 2017 at 20:20
  • $\begingroup$ @jamesqf In Louisiana, we also had big turtles that would sun themselves on the runway in the summer. Those things aren't much fun either. $\endgroup$
    – Shawn
    Mar 20, 2017 at 20:28
  • $\begingroup$ @Shawn: Yeah, and I imagine it's not easy to scare them off the runway. Even if you could, you'd probably run out of fuel waiting for them to get out of the way :-) $\endgroup$
    – jamesqf
    Mar 21, 2017 at 18:29
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One thing to keep in mind when landing on any non-airport grass field: there's a fair chance that you won't notice the small rut in the grass until your nose wheel hits it. That's another reason why it's a good idea to do a low and slow pass over your intended landing area. Another thing to remember is that it's a lot easier to get in than it is to get out. You'd hate to make an awesomely successful landing in a field only to find out that you'll hit the trees at the far end on your way out.

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    $\begingroup$ I'm curious as to why the down-vote. Unless you've walked the field that you're planning to land in, even if it's maintained, there could be some geographical (or as I stated above, biological) obstacles that can impact your aircraft. And unless you're flying a VTOL aircraft, your takeoff distance will pretty much always be longer than your landing distance, ESPECIALLY in grass. $\endgroup$
    – Shawn
    Apr 7, 2017 at 15:16
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First of all, I look for power or telephone lines. The wires are almost invisible against the ground, but poles and towers are more or less conspicuous. Second, the wind has to be right, and third, the surface should be OK. Grass may seem nice, but it can disguise important irregularities, like irrigation ditches. The best is naked dirt, easy to examine by making a low pass...

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