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How many pilots actually understand the difference between the CTAF and UNICOM?
It is alarming to me that most general aviation pilots do not understand the difference. The first example that comes to mind is after hurricane Katrina hit in New Orleans. Lakefront Airport was in chaos with both military and civilian aircraft delivering supplies and airlifting residents out of the city. With no control tower in service, pilots began questioning themselves on which frequency to use. They believed that since the part-time tower, which uses a frequency of 119.90 during operational hours was closed that the UNICOM of 122.95 became the default frequency. This is a vulgar mistake, since the CTAF that is used for the non-controlled hours; 2200-0800L is also 119.90. This left a high percentage of pilots on a different frequency, meaning they might as well not have had a radio. Miraculously, no incursions took place although I’ve heard about the many close calls.