[In behalf of Anonymous user, originally posted on 21 Oct 2008]
A fellow pilot and I decided to fly back to back 300 mile flights to Ardmore via the East coast. After flying from Palmerston North to Ardmore on a Sunday, the pilot who was to fly the return journey conveniently decided to delay the trip till the following morning, as they had family to visit and a Warriors game to watch. Official reason for delaying the flight was there wasn’t enough time to return before ECT.
Following morning we arrived at the aerodrome to find fog covering all of Auckland. Visibility was roughly 50m. Sat and waited for a good half hour for it to clear enough to take off. Once it cleared enough we took off, only to find that the entire North Island was covered in heavy fog. PIC decided to return to Ardmore and wait for it to clear as it is against the rules to fly over overcast cloud (because you couldn’t see jack down through it). On the ground, we called […the school…] to inform them, and they basically said get back in the aircraft and come home, stop delaying. I was also pressuring PIC to leave as I was sick of waiting and had things to do back in Palmy. In the end the decision was made to jump back in the plane and do it, flying all the way to Tauranga before we saw ground again.
Points I took away from this experience:
1. Pilot in Command has the final say, and shouldn’t be pressured in to decisions they don’t want to make.
2. Watch out for the ‘yes-sir’ attitude – i.e. saying yes to flying home even though you’re not comfortable.
3. Instructors/OPS hardly ever know best. They aren’t there and can’t judge the situation, they just want the aircraft back.
4. Be wary of a pilot’s experience/confidence. Just because you’d be happy to do something doesn’t mean they are.
5. Always watch out for get-home-itis. Rather get home late than not at all.
Often pilots are under pressure from various sources, including instructors to conducts flights under not so favourable, however not impossible weather conditions. Once, I was ‘forced’ into going on a flight with a crosswind beyond my capability. When returning for a landing, the aircraft was almost unable to be maintained on the centreline. That was an experience I could not forget. Weighting up my options afterwards, how can one flight allow me to risk my life and the possibility of running off the runway and damaging the aircraft. It was not worth it. The truth is only you YOURSELF know what you are capable of. Do not allow yourself to be ‘pressurised’ into doing something you are uncertain of. A useful tip is to sit down with instructors and establish ‘personal weather minima’. The minima should be set based on your self evaluation, as well as evaluation of your capability from your instructor. The minima should contain limiting wind strength, visibility, crosswind, cloud base etc…. Always stick to it! Do not have the attitude that everything will be okay, as one day it won’t be! It is always better to ‘be safe than sorry’!
[In behalf of Anonymous user, originally posted on 21 Oct 2008]
It was a bright sunny afternoon of May the 15th, 2008. I had planned a solo CPL cross-country navigation flight from Palmerston North to Waiouru, Taupo (touch & go) , Napier (full stop to refuel) and back to Palmerston North. I was scheduled to depart at 2pm. I was all prepared to set off by 130pm. Unfortunately, my aircraft had not return from it's previous scheduled flight although it was due to be in on the […school's…] Apron by 1pm.
Instead of waiting around […the school…] for the aircraft to return, I approached the Duty Instructor for the day to inform him of my flight plan so that he could sign me out. He sat down with me in one of the briefing rooms and we discussed the flight. Towards the end of the discussion, he asked me which aircraft i would be in. I told him that i was waiting for the aircraft to return and that i would have to refuel it once it's back. He told me that although he was happy with my flight plan and details, he would only sign me out once the aircraft is back and refuelled.
The aircraft finally arrived at about 210pm and i managed to get the rufueller to refuel my aircraft. I was all ready to go by 220pm, already behind schedule by 20 minutes. I then looked for the Duty Instructor to sign me out. This time, he was briefing a student of his and thus i had to wait. He finally signed me out at 230pm. By now, i was worried about ECT (Evening Civil Twillight). […The school's…] SOP stated that pilots had to be back 45 minutes before ECT.
I did my flight as planned and was on the way back from Napier towards Palmerston North. As i was nearing Dannervirke, the sun was shining brightly. I didn't have sunglasses on and it was hard to see what was ahead of me. Even worse, my windscreen was not clean. It had many tiny dots of drops of water on it. i was experiencing sunstrike.
MY immediate action was to contact Ohakea Control on 125.1Mhz (controlled airspace) to request to transit the Manawatu Gorge at a higher altitude. I wasn't comfortable with going through the gorge with such reduced visibility. My request was welcomed by the radar controller. I transitted the gorge at 2500ft, well clear of the menacing windmills. I thought that it was the end of my worries but it was only the start of it.
After transitting the gorge, i was relayed on to Palmerston Tower frequency 120.6Mhz. I requested to land and they gave me a straight in Runway 25 approach. By now, the sun was starting to set and Runway 25 is pretty much a in a westerly direction. As such, the sun was directly in my eyes. I had no sight of the runway. I informed the radar controller that i had difficulty finding the runway. He understood the position i was in and tried to vector me to the runway. Finally, i had the runway in sight but i was way too high on approach. I requested to go around and came in to land on the 2nd attempt without any episodes.
It was quite an experience for me considering that one of my course mates had undergone a similar situation but he wasn't lucky enough to even spot the gorge nor the windmills. As such, he got lost and ended up abeam Levin on the eastern side of the ranges.
Below are a number of things that can be improved:
1. Pilots should stick to the scheduled timings for the aircraft (i.e depart and return at scheduled timings)
2. The Duty Instructor should be at Operations whenever he is on duty.
3. Windscreens should be cleaned prior to every flight.
4. Get a good pair of sunglasses.
5. Stick to ETA's and read ground to map features if unsure of position.
Sunstrike can occur at any time, however, it is most likely to occur during sunrise or sunset, when the sun's rays hit your windscreen at a low angle. This can make it difficult, or even blind the pilot from seeing things ahead of the aircraft. Always be prepared for a sunstrike when flying, especially when flying at close to sunrise and sunset. One suggestion is that if your aircraft is equipped with sun visors, remember that it can also be used to block the sun!
[In behalf of Anonymous user, originally posted on 21 Oct 2008]
I feel that almost every pilot has been involved in situations where weather had been an issue.
I was on a navigational cross country flight with one of my mates, as a passenger. There were 3 of us, all trainee pilots. We departed Palmerston North enroute to Nelson via Woodbourne. It was one of the first few solo navigational flights and as such we were all excited, especially going somewhere (outside Palmerston North) for the very first time! The weather was marginal, forcasted to get worse later in the day and we didn't know if we could make it to Nelson, let alone Woodbourne.
Passed Paraparaumu, the weather started to deteriorate. But the PiC pushed on although the other passenger and I felt that we should turn back. The PiC said, "I have flown in worse weather than this". As we were not flying, and being merely passengers, we kept quiet although deep inside we knew we should have turned back. It was very very turbulent crossing the Cook Strait, . There was an instance where we lost about 200 feet due to the downdraught of the cumulonimbus clouds. But that did not scare the PiC one bit.
Approaching Woodbourne, we could barely make out the sounds which were to the west of the town . The PiC contacted Woodburne Tower and was given a particular arrival. Passed Blenheim township, we should have been able to see the runway easily but the visibilty was so bad that we couldn't. Looking from ground to map, the airfield should be in the vicinity but we had no visual of it. That was when the PiC decided he has had enough and felt that he should turn back.
The return trip was quite bad, but not as bad as the initial flight down. The front was moving down from the North to the South.
I am sure that almost everyone of us has been in a similar situation before. How should we as fellow pilots voice out and influence other pilots that we should turn back? Sure if you survive such an ordeal, you would be bragging that "It was really bad etc etc.. but i made it.. I'm the best pilot in the world….".
But what if we didn't?? It's not worth the risk eh!
As mentioned earlier, KDP #1 ——> Go or No Go. As they say, "The best pilots never leave the ground".
We should instill such an attitude in each and everyone of us.
[In behalf of charliemikehotel, originally posted on 22 Oct 2008]
I came across a good quote once:
"The least experienced pilots press on, while the more experienced turn back to join the most experienced who never left the ground in the first place!"
Once a captain of a B747 said that “On all of my flights for the past 30 years, each and every flight have always been different”. Pilots are always making decisions that will affect the safety of the aircraft and their passengers. Key Decision Points (KDPs) assists pilots in making these decisions. In this case, KDP 1 which is ‘to go or not to go’ is important in assisting pilots to make the ‘go or no go ’decision at the initial phase of planning. However, another KDP- KDP3 can assist pilots in making the decision ‘to continue or divert’ en route. In terms of the weather, KDP3 should be made by comparing the forecast and present weather, as well as your own personal limit. If any of these exceed the minima, either legally or personally, the flight should not be continued and a diversion should be considered. Hence KDP3 is crucial during each and every flight to assist pilots in making the right decision, and if the right decision hadn’t been made during the initial phase of planning, i.e. KDP1.
What are the other KDPs? Are these only applicable to bad weather? I see a lesson can be created from your contribution!
Cheers
More about Key Decision Points (KDPs) here.
This was happened quite a long ago on my first semester in the school. My knowledege about flying it wasn't that good. I had only about 20 hrs . It was my first solo going out in to the southern training area doing my PPL manouvre. When I took-off the weather was fine with a little bit of scattered cloud. And the forecast on the web said that it will be some cold front coming in at about 2 hours time. I then continue my practice in south and I realize that the wind was picking up and the rain started to come from south west. I decided to continue my flight and wait until the rain get close to my aircraft then I get back to palmy. However, when I looked at north the cloud was closing in as well at about 500ft. I was panic and it was a heavy rain. I don't know what to do for like 5 minutes, I then descent to 500 ft and flew into the cloud a little bit. Then I contact […] base to ask the weather in Palmy, then they said that it was really wet. The vis was so low (2km) that I couldn't see anything. I then continue to fly on my heading at about 030M. Finally i see a little town called Opiki. I then orbit at Opiki for several times and listen to ATIS. Straight away from that I contact tower and ask for special VFR. And they guided me back to palmy until i see the runway visually at about 500ft agl above the treshhold. Then I landed safely.
From that I learnt a lot that to be a good pilot we don't have to be panic. We have to make a good decision according to the situation around us. And also I realize that hours and experience is very important to Pilots…
It is very often that ab- initio pilots encounter difficult weather scenarios during their phase of training. During these situations, panicking will only worsen the situation. Try to remain as calm as possible. Start forming a plan. Look at all the possible landing options around you. For example there is Foxton to the west, Dannevirke to the east, Paraparamumu to the south, and Palmerston North and Fielding to the North. The first two aerodromes have grass runways which need to be taken into account in heavy rains. Do not hesitate to seek assistance. These could include talking to base/ operations, or directly to ATC (Air traffic Control). Radar vectoring is available from the ATC unit for inadvertent entry into cloud, or for guidance to land at a suitable aerodrome. If the weather is closing in fast and all possible options are running out, do not hesitate to conduct a precautionary landing. It is not wise to press on further with uncertainty. A successful precautionary landing is much safer than running out of altitude and airspeed in the air. More importantly, know your own personal limitations and stick to it. As it is always better to be ‘safe than sorry’!
[In behalf of Anonymous user, originally posted on 22 Oct 2008]
On a solo back to back nav, we were flying from masterton around ferry down to omaka. to the east and parallel with the mountains that encompass NZWN, we hit moderate to severe turbulence, which began to scare me and the other pilot. after about 3 or 4 mins into it, and after an attempt to outclimb it we were still experiencing it. Feeling a bit sick we had began to contemplate diverting or returning back home. after a further few minute discussion and still experiencing the turbulence we made an educated desicion that once we passed the ranges we would be passed it. From this experience we both learnt that you shouldnt be afraid to turn around dont expect invulnerability, beacauase after that experience i was feeling nauseated, air sick and really scared of the aircrafts structural strength during the periods of turbulence. Dont test fate do what you're trained to do, to make the correct descions that will ensure safety for all.
Severe turbulence can seriously affect the safety of any aircraft, especially with high terrain around. Severe turbulence is defined as ‘abrupt changes in aircraft altitude and/ or attitude’. The aircraft can be momentarily out of control. There are no devices present for detection of turbulence, however, various sources can be used to inform us if turbulence is present. The ARFOUR (Area Forecast) will display wind strength, which when strong winds are forecast, we can expect turbulence. Also, ARFOUR will also forecast ‘moderate and above turbulence levels’ separately if they are present within the area. In addition, ‘SIGMET’ which contain information concerning en-route weather phenomena which may affect the safety of aircraft operations, will be issued when severe turbulence is observed. Light aircraft should not go flying within the area of forecast. Another tip is that when flying around terrain, avoid flying on the lee side of the mountain if it is a windy day. Strong up and down drafts may be present. Fly as high as possible when crossing terrains will certainly help to avoid turbulence!
[In behalf of Anonymous user, originally posted on 22 Oct 2008]
On a back-to-back solo x-country flight from chch back to palmy, we were flying over the marlbrough sounds at 5500 feet. All off a sudden the cherokee encountered some light turbulance, followed by a "sideways" dive of about 500 feet (kind of wing drop stall, but no stall)… definitely made the flight interesting!
the PiC at the time went straight to wings level, fuel pump on and full throttle trying to regain the lost height…
More on Atmospheric Turbulence here.
[In behalf of SBK981A, originally posted on 22 Oct 2008]
It was a Saturday morning when myself and a mate (we had the same instructor) were due to fly on a solo pre-PPL cross-country to Napier. It was a less than average day for flying, but the plan was to fly to Napier, do a T&G and then land at Hastings for lunch before returning to Palmy. The first indication that we probably should be flying was that when we called (telephone) for clearance to park at Hastings for a few hours the guy asked if we had seen the SIGMET for severe turbulence over the lower north island… We said we had and we thought it wasn't gonna be that bad. So we got an instructor to sign us out, after a long chat whether or not to go. Looking back he signed us out in the full intention of us having to make the decision to come back due to weather. Needless to say we got hammered going throught the Gorge and it was pretty miserable on the other side, however it looked relatively clear and rainless up ahead, so we decided to keep going. We were talking to each other on an aircraft to aircraft frequency, and were constantly assessing whether or not to turn back. It looked much better up ahead than what we had flown through so I thought it best to keep going, even to the disagreement of my 'wingman'. We landed in NR and checked with ops the state of the weather in Palmy, and it was worse. So we ended up staying the night in NR and flew back the next morning.
We should have realised how bad it could have been, instead of thinking "she'll be right". Also the fact that even the people in Hastings didnt think it was fit to fly was a good indication of the conditions that side. This was a great lesson about decision making and the go/no-go decision. Even though it was a scary experience at the time I look back at it now as a good learning experience and a few laughs.
SBK981A =)
On a NAV from PM to WB, myself and another student encountered some bad weather whilst entering the WB control zone. Knowing how close we were and where the airfield was, we continued with our joining instructions. One we landed at WB, the small shower we flew through intensified. Whilst on the ground in WB, we evaluated our options of either heading back or staying the night in WB. After about an hour of waiting, we decided to have a run at it, but turn round and head back if it was too bad. 20 minutes later, we were back in WB. After another half hour of decision making and with help from Air NZ's weather reports and computers, we decided to make another run at it, using our same poor weather option of turning back.
This time however, the weather was slightly better, and we were able to get out of the control zone, and maintain a track to WN, although there were slight rain showers and our visibility wasn't the best, however through teamwork, we made it to WN and back to PM safely.
This taught me that even if there is the slightest chance of bad weather, have a diversion and a plan to get back safely, don't push on and use the attitude, "we'll be right". The plans we made were successful and we stuck by them, therefore making it back to PM late, but in one piece.
It was on the afternoon, i have checked the weather and it was a fine day. So i approached my instructor to get an authorization to go for solo flight to the southern training area. And he ask me a question about the weather, so i decode the weather for him, then he agree to sign me off. so, I took off and head off to low flying zone. once i have finished my practice, on the way back, all of the sudden i saw a heavy shower rain coming from the north west and it covers the entire palmerston north, so i could not see anything, the visibility suddenly reduce to 6 KM, i was so panic at that time, because i have not got a lot of experience in flying, i only have 30 hours at that time. so i decide to call massey base and ask for weather report in the vicinity of palmerston north, and the ops said that the weather is getting worst. So i decide to hold overhead shannon for 20 minutes, and i start to descend to 1500 feet and make sure that i am well clear from the Tararua ranges. and i configure my aircraft to a low visibility configuration, i was only flying at 80 knots. and also i told ATC straight away that i need a permission to land ASAP. and the ATC give me a direction to land, but i still could not see the runway at left base Runway 25 at 1500 feet, at about 1000 feet i can see the treeshold of the runway, so i told the ATC that runway is visual, and i am cleared to land, when i land the aircraft i could not believe that i just flew in the bad weather condition. So my advice is always confirm the weather from every resources, not only from internet, but from the general knowledge as well.
This incident occurred on my first few solo navigation. It was 1.5hrs before ECT and I was headed back to Palmerston North from Porangahau. While tracking back, I was blinded by the sun strike and couldn’t even look in front even with my sunglasses on. The only features I could make out to get a position to where I was, was from looking out the side of the aircraft. Having my ETA to Palmerston, I roughly knew where I was. The only feature which could be made out was the wind farms which surrounded the terrain around the GORGE. That same day a class mate of mine who flew the same route couldn’t locate the Gorge due the sun strike and ended up requiring radar assistance.
If placed in the same situation , I should have requested clearance from Ohekea Control to climb to a higher altitude ensuring i was clear of the mountainous terrain as well as ensuring that i was clear of traffic as was I was not able to lookout for any.
