View Full Version : Single Pilot IFR Go/No Go Decision
Arfur Feck-Sake
21st Aug 2007, 17:19
It's midnight at a small regional airport, you're on your own, the weather is absolutely foul and you should be getting airborne in your piston twin to fly across an expanse of water to some remote god-forsaken place where the weather is even worse.
How difficult is it to say "I ain't going, the weather's too bad" and what are the likely repercussions from customer and management? And who gets a reputation as a good pilot/emp[loyee - the one who won't push it, or the one who always delivers the goods?
I'd be interested to hear any experiences.
julian_storey
21st Aug 2007, 19:12
Should have thought that one was easy.
If it's legal and within company minima then you go. If it isn't then you don't.
cj3pilot
21st Aug 2007, 19:55
Well at lease the good pilot would be around the next day to read the news about the pilot that thought he could do the job and didn't.As PIC if you say no I will fly with you anyday.We have all been in that spot and if the boss doesn't stand behind you well look for another job.
26point2
21st Aug 2007, 20:34
The answer is simple!..No matter what limitations the aviation authorities put on you or what crosswind component your aircraft has landed in while flown by expert experienced pilots during demonstration flights, or no matter what limitations your company puts on you.... if you dont like the conditions.. dont go!
i'm guessing by the fact that you posed the question you are not a 10thousand hour pilot.
keep your own limits within your comfort zone and that will widen with experience. if anyone argues with you, walk away.
compressor stall
22nd Aug 2007, 12:44
The right decision is easy. Having the spine to carry it through can be much harder. I was 30 mins into a 2 hour flight that was to a destination that required no alternate. I was then informed that the weather at my destination was now deteriorating to the point that it was below the alternate minima (and below the approach minima too - NDB only). There was nowhere else above minima to return to except my dept point. I returned to a very very irate ops manager.
I offloaded some freight refuelled and proceeded with the flight. I kept all the weather forecasts, and wrote down the sequence of events with words like "based on the weather foreacasts and the requirements of AIPXXXX and Ops manual para XXX, it was illegal for me to continue. The only legal and safe option for me was to return to XXX". I put it on the CP's desk for him to read in the morning, and never heard about it again.
The bottom line is that you are tasked with a job and are expected to fly unless you can justify why you could not achieve it. Do not mix this up with being pressured into flying in bad weather.
init2winit
22nd Aug 2007, 16:38
Couldn't agree more with the previous posts here. Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt. I told a regular customer of ours that I couldn't take him where he wanted to go due weather. He questioned it and asked me to try. Explained that we would end up back here and he got the ferry home instead. Unfortunately he never used us again. It is a horrible situation to be in and I have every sympathy with you. Be professional and keep your hard earned licence. I once heard a fellow single pilot captain say "I have a paid alot of money for my professional licence and you are asking me to do something that is totally unprofessional".
These are the questions that nube asks when they have the keys to the plane, they look at the weather, the passengers show up, and then it hits them....
It's not all fun and games..
Life's a Beech
23rd Aug 2007, 15:07
If you are really not happy about a flight and the management don't back you up on your decision then you should start putting out some CVs. Either the management are putting undue pressure on you to fly when it is not safe or the job could be done safely but you are not confident and single-crew IFR is probably not for you.
There are operators out there who will pressure their crews to make flights that are not safe, to fly in a way that is less safe than the flight could be made or even to fly in copnditions that are illegal. However the job is not for everyone, and some pilots just don't like the type of flying that we do. They usually go onwards fairly quickly.