It was scary today

[onwards]

Instead of trying to rewrite the whole thing, I am quoting (more or less verbatim) the letter I sent to my club's maintenance officer this evening. I must admit that for a moment or two today, I wasn't entirely certain we'd come out of it alive. And yes, it was legal all the way. As I found out, that really doesn't mean jack squat, when things start going wrong, and you're trying to maintain the composure necessary to deal with conditions shifting much more rapidly than you ever thought possible, and your kids are next to and behind you, blissfully unaware of what's going on. The plane never got ahead of me, thankfully. But I have also never been so glad to feel the wheels hitting the tarmac as I have been when I touched down midfield on one niner right.

Coming in, weather was reporting at 9 miles, 800 broken - typical of the area and stuff I've previously flown and approached under via SVFR a few times with no issue. It felt rather familiar. I never saw it deteriorate so fast before.

In hindsight, I can think of plenty of things I could have done differently, and it really wasn't that bad when all is said and done (heck, in retrospect it was good experience), but I found out that when stuff starts happening and then keeps happening, it's a lot harder to stay on top of it when you're up there than when you're on the ground thinking about it later - or even beforehand. I think what really made me sit up and take notice was when Travis asked me 10 minutes into this whole thing whether the plane was IFR capable. I responded that the plane was, but the pilot wasn't, but of course they didn't hear me and asked the same thing a couple more times. Kinda woke me up to how much of a corner I had painted myself into.

Anyway, the letter:
==
Folks,

I wanted to write with regards to [the 182] this afternoon.

[...]

That aside, I had a harrowing 45 minute experience coming back. I had
my family with me onboard. On my way out earlier in the day, radio 1
had some issues, and Norcal called on me 4 or 5 times before they
heard my response, even though I was repeating it over and over. But
it cleared up when I got close to Half Moon Bay, which is where we
went. I switched to radio 2 and everything was fine.

On the way back, I asked for special VFR clearance to get into CCR.
The weather showed VFR at CCR when we left HAF, and then became
marginal en route. Not a problem, I've done SVFR before in and out of
CCR, I'm quite used to it. It didn't look particularly menacing at
that point in time.

This time, however, BOTH radios decided to start acting funny after I
was well under the clouds, at 500ft over the delta, with the fog
slowly building and IFR traffic having priority over me to get into
CCR. I had to stay in a circling pattern, which would have been fine
since I had visual ground contact, except that Travis could hear me
only very occasionally on radio 1, and not at all on 2. I had at some
point left all proper radio phraseology and started repeating over and
over "[callsign], circling east of Benicia bridge at 500 ft, can you hear
me?". Took about 10 tries for it to get a response, and you can
imagine the rest. This introduced a tremendous amount of delay, which
of course meant the weather had plenty of time to get worse. I think
we circled for about 30 minutes in worsening conditions, mostly just
trying to resolve communications.

There was also no getting back out, visibility was down close to the
lower limits of SVFR, and the mist was collecting fast. I was
considering declaring an emergency (like anyone could have heard me,
but I was about to squawk 7600) when I suddenly got a couple of quick
exchanges going with Travis, they turned me over rapidly to CCR tower,
and they gave me the clearance to come in to 19R, and then the radio
failed again. It was enough though, and I could still just make out
the airport beacon and subsequently the runway to make it in safely
(greased it too, heh). Radio 1 came back to life at that point so I
was able to talk to ground and get to the east ramp normally, whereas
radio 2 died entirely (I tried it once and gave up).

I have to say that I am really nervous about flying [the 182] again though.
Sure, I'm glad that I had good training and could keep my calm in
pretty ugly conditions, and everything unfolded with very little drama,
but it felt real close to not being fine at all. It's hard to figure
out what to do when you can hear other planes coming in IFR on an
approach that will cross my own path, and the only way to avoid that
path was climb into an actual thick cloud layer, and not being able to
discuss options with ATC. I tried my best to figure out who was where
before I headed in, and luckily the radio gave me just enough there at
the end that there was no issue, but there were plenty of pretty
nervous moments.

I called CCR tower afterwards (on my own accord) and chatted with the
controller. He confirmed that he could not hear my communications for
most of the time, which is why they kept trying to reach me with the
same information (like the SVFR clearance). He said on the times they
COULD hear me, my voice broke repeatedly. It turned out alright,
thankfully. But PLEASE look at those radios. Please.

I canceled my scheduled flight in [the 182] for tomorrow.

 

[onwards]

Three thoughts:

Sounds like your playing with fire flying SVFR regularly as a non-IFR rated pilot.

Get the radios fixed.

Good job.

Well... the SVFR thing is almost a necessity here - it's very common to ask for it, whether you are VFR or IFR or whatever, just for that last mile. I had it shown to me during primary training a couple times, and used it myself with the instructor, although it took a couple months after I got my certificate to need it myself for the first time, but since then I've used it several times.

Every time I've used it to this point it's always been this way - you get excellent visibility, and a low thin broken layer sitting over the airport, so you duck under it and come in, or go out under it into clear skies. It LOOKED that way today.

And then, it didn't.

EDIT: I did have another resource, I suppose, which is that I have at least a bit of IFR training by now. It's not enough by any means to fly IFR, but it's enough to deal with more ugly than I previously could. I think that helped a lot today in keeping cool and understanding the environment in terms of the IFR planes coming in down through the clouds.

 

[dennyleeb]

Sounds like straight vfr into imc. Kills a bunch. You got lucky. Get that instrument rating. Quit trying to fly when the weather is that close. Bad judgement man. Glad it turned out ok but read your post again. You keep going on and on about the radio failure but it was a major pilot error that about got you.

 

[onwards]

Sounds like straight vfr into imc. Kills a bunch. You got lucky. Get that instrument rating. Quit trying to fly when the weather is that close. Bad judgement man. Glad it turned out ok but read your post again. You keep going on and on about the radio failure but it was a major pilot error that about got you.

Now sure how you reach that conclusion.

Weather at destination was VFR when I left for a 35 minute flight. Turned marginal on the way but into something I felt quite familiar with which is a way of life here. With the radios working normally, this would have been a typical flight, file and forget.

Where exactly is the major error? yes, I got caught by surprise, no doubt. It never quite became imc, either. Sounds like a lot of snap judgment. I didn't feel lucky at all, felt quite UNlucky to be honest. Learned a couple things. Certainly don't intend to stop using SVFR at CCR, but will be more aware of what it could turn into and will become more discerning in the future (see it once...)

 

[gprellwitz]

What were your outs on that flight? Was there another airport you could have gone to had the weather deteriorated even further? Maybe you could have landed there and called tower on the landline to coordinate the return. Could you have gotten the radio fixed at Half Moon (or elsewhere) when you realized there was a problem?

Could you have filed IFR? (okay, I know that the answer is no, because you aren't rated. Were you able to, this would be a "typical" loss of communications scenario.)

Could you have driven back from Half Moon when you realized there was a radio problem or that the weather was coming down?

As you said in your writeup, "In hindsight, I can think of plenty of things I could have done differently," so what were they and why didn't you do them? Was it just because you had done the SVFR before, so you were counting on its working this time? As a renter too, I realize the constraints that can put on your decision making, but in the end your number one responsibility is to keep the occupants safe.

It sounds to me as if you've started on the IFR training, but if not it certainly would be a good idea around there.

When you talked to ATC afterwards, did they indicate if they tried any other ways to reach you, like a VOR or anything? And, if so, were you listening on those other frequencies? I have a COM1 in the 182 I usually fly that gets a bit flaky transmitting between about 119 and 120MHz after being on for a couple of hours. Perhaps other frequencies, either in the voice bands or the VOR bands would have worked better.

Those are just some of the thoughts I had reading your missive. I'm glad that you made it down safe!

 

[onwards]

What were your outs on that flight?

The same as always, before it became so challenging.

Was there another airport you could have gone to had the weather deteriorated even further?

Travis itself, Napa and Rio Vista are always very close good alternates.

Maybe you could have landed there and called tower on the landline to coordinate the return.

Yup. One of the things in retrospect I should have considered doing earlier was, instead of circling and tunnel-visioning the radio issue, I should have simply turned and flew a few miles when I still could to Napa, landed there, and waited for things to turn or taken a cab back to CCR. It's one of the lessons learned for me; I really got so narrowly focused on the radio that I forgot my normal escape routes until it was too late.

Could you have gotten the radio fixed at Half Moon (or elsewhere) when you realized there was a problem?

Possibly, but I didn't think both radios were gone; one was giving a short-term intermittent problem, but the other seemed just fine, and it's a very short distance flight, so it didn't seem that urgent to deal with it then.

Could you have filed IFR? (okay, I know that the answer is no, because you aren't rated. Were you able to, this would be a "typical" loss of communications scenario.)

Right.

Could you have driven back from Half Moon when you realized there was a radio problem or that the weather was coming down?

I didn't realize the weather was coming down. I left HAF with the weather reporting VFR at CCR. And remember, it's a very short flight - 35 minutes the "long way", even less if you get clearance via the Bravo for direct (which I didn't). The weather report changed about 20 minutes into the flight, 15 minutes before arrival, into what sounded like something I am quite familiar with. It also looked that way, visually, until after I was "in".

As you said in your writeup, "In hindsight, I can think of plenty of things I could have done differently," so what were they and why didn't you do them?

Oh, like trying the hand-held mike to see if the headset was the issue is one. No, I don't mean in terms of the decision to go SVFR. I do not regret that at all, it was perfectly routine.

Was it just because you had done the SVFR before, so you were counting on its working this time? As a renter too, I realize the constraints that can put on your decision making, but in the end your number one responsibility is to keep the occupants safe.

Agreed. No pressure from a rental perspective, actually, the club allows up to three days of late return due to weather. And I had the plane scheduled for both today and tomorrow, so it was "mine" anyway.

Again, you are looking at this with hindsight. In the moment, none of it was unusual or felt odd or particular challenging UNTIL the radios started doing what they were doing right after I heard the instruction to NOT head to the airport but wait until the IFR planes landed first. Even then it would not have been an issue except that I couldn't communicate with ATC so had to figure out by myself what to do while still trying to comply with the instruction of avoiding the one area (the delta) where I normally would wait until being given clearance to come in. THAT was a challenge, and an unexpected one. Now add the weather deteriorating (completely unexpectedly) right over where I was holding, and you get a lot of stress.

The funny thing was, by the time I landed in the airport itself, the weather AT the airport was perfectly fine - exactly what I'm used to in SVFR (good visibility, low broken). It was the combination of being told to hold off in an unusual place, essentially over open water between two bridges, and fog building up over the water (but apparently not land; I had to cross to the east of one bridge to get away from it, increasing my discomfort because I felt too close to that IFR approach), and losing contact, that made it really uncomfortable.

It sounds to me as if you've started on the IFR training, but if not it certainly would be a good idea around there.

Yup to both (have and good idea).

When you talked to ATC afterwards, did they indicate if they tried any other ways to reach you, like a VOR or anything?

Nope. They didn't think anything unusual was happening. Remember, they couldn't hear me most of the time. In fact, the guy was a bit miffed that I didn't answer his calls, so when I clued him in he had a bit of an "aha" moment.

And, if so, were you listening on those other frequencies?

No. Excellent idea, had not occurred to me. Wouldn't have helped here, but good thing to keep in mind for the future.

Those are just some of the thoughts I had reading your missive. I'm glad that you made it down safe!

Yeah, me too.

 

[dmccormack]

It seems the central problem was malfunctioning radios.

So?

Even under IFR there are loss of communications protocols and rules.

Loss of Comms VFR should be a non-event.

But it sounds like you weren't VFR....

 

[Chip Sylverne]

Invest in a handheld.

 

[Geico266]

And invest in XM Weather.

Lesson learned. You did good. Next time divert sooner, you had your kids on board. Don't wait for things to get worse.

 

[dennyleeb]

Now sure how you reach that conclusion.

Weather at destination was VFR when I left for a 35 minute flight. Turned marginal on the way but into something I felt quite familiar with which is a way of life here. With the radios working normally, this would have been a typical flight, file and forget.

Where exactly is the major error? yes, I got caught by surprise, no doubt. It never quite became imc, either. Sounds like a lot of snap judgment. I didn't feel lucky at all, felt quite UNlucky to be honest. Learned a couple things. Certainly don't intend to stop using SVFR at CCR, but will be more aware of what it could turn into and will become more discerning in the future (see it once...)

just because a green dot shows up on foreflight does not mean it is safe to fly, weather changes that is why there are forecast, not trying to be harsh but sounds like you did not learn enough, lost radio communication is not a common cause of disaster, vfr into imc is, there is a reason those planes right above you were flying IFR on approaches

 

[bbchien]

As others have said, get the IR. Remember, radios do not make you fly in clouds, engines and gyros do.

There was nothing amiss here- except a VFR pilot repeatedly being on the edge using SVFR to get back to base....

 

[wabower]

Seems to me that the best lesson from this event to reinforce that there's a reason they call it "special" and in this case has the same connotation as when mom used it to define something I had done, as in "well, aren't you special." Suffice to say it wasn't a compliment.

IMO, any non-IR pilot who routinely depends on that clearance is an accident-in-waiting. The NTSB reports are chock-full of accidents that were the result of pilots who "got away with it" (whatever "it" was) on one or more occasions prior to purchasing the pastoral.

As D. K. Royal used to say during his head-coaching career at U of TX, "when you put the ball in the air, three things can happen. Two of them are bad."

 

[Old Geek]

About 50 miles north at DWA, the humidity never got below 100% and the temp and dewpoint were equal all day. Even though there was some patchy VFR conditions and I was itching to fly, I stayed home, drank a beer and watched a movie. Under those conditions I've seen large areas change from marginal VFR to less than 1/4 mile visibility in 1/2 hour.

 

[onwards]

It seems the central problem was malfunctioning radios.

So?

Even under IFR there are loss of communications protocols and rules.

Loss of Comms VFR should be a non-event.

But it sounds like you weren't VFR....

*sigh* I SAID it wasn't VFR - it was SVFR. It was not IFR, though, at any point, for me. It WAS IFR for those coming in down through the clouds. They could have SVFR too, but if I were IFR rated I'd have used that instead, making the whole thing a non-event.

Just losing radios isn't a big deal. Agreed.

Losing partial radios right after being told to hold off coming in for a little while only to start experiencing rapidly deteriorating conditions like one has not before experienced while having one's kids on board was a big deal to me yesterday. For me, this was the first time I got right down seriously nervous flying, which is why I shared the story.

I do fly as much as I can, which is quite a bit - if I don't rely on SVFR for the period of Nov to May out here then I would be flying a LOT less. I would argue that flying a lot helps me maintain general piloting skills at a higher level, which means that when I get into trouble I have a higher chance of survival. I have to say that this whole notion that I should always be waiting for perfect conditions to perform this activity, to me anyway, sounds unrealistic and non-sensical.

My biggest lesson from yesterday - the important one - was not about "the choice to fly". I chose just fine. The lesson was about tunnel vision. The choice I SHOULD have made was divert as soon as too many things started going wrong at once. First radio not working? switch to number two. Two failing? try the Mike or some other alternate (I love the idea that someone mentioned of a handheld). Told to hold off in an uncomfortable location? focus on figuring out where to go instead of allowing myself to get boxed in. And the big one - weather is starting to change real rapidly from "been there done that" to "yikes"? forget about the damn radios and divert, divert, divert. THAT's my big lesson taken from yesterday. Tunnel vision can be dangerous.

 

[JoeSelch]

Onwards - glad you're still around to have posted your story.
The radios were NOT the problem here; it was the nut behind the yoke.
Stop playing around in special VFR like it's no big deal. If the wx is truly such that SVFR is routinely needed at CCR, either get your IR or find another airport to call home base until you do.

 

[onwards]

Onwards - glad you're still around to have posted your story.
The radios were NOT the problem here; it was the nut behind the yoke.
Stop playing around in special VFR like it's no big deal. If the wx is truly such that SVFR is routinely needed at CCR, either get your IR or find another airport to call home base until you do.

I have to ask - do you really think that I will "stop playing around with SVFR like it's no big deal", just because of this sort of snarky comment and your calling me a nut? of course I won't, I will continue to fly and gain experience and inevitably run into unexpected trouble and hopefully survive so I evolve my skills until the day I die. If that happens to be in a plane, cest la vie, it's a risky activity to begin with. And the positive from yesterday is that I gained tons of valuable experience that one simply does not gain from flying "perfect conditions" all the time.

Working on IR already. Expecting to finish it in a few months. Whether you approve or not, SVFR in the winter here is, MOST of the time, exactly "no big deal". The danger is not in utilizing this option. The specific danger relating to that is in getting too familiar with it so that one becomes lax about it. I was starting to do that, and yesterday set me straight, thankfully in the end with little drama (although with a lot of adrenaline).

 

[Morne]

I have had precious little dealing with y'all's California weather, so I'm not going to sit in judgment of someone who sees it everyday and has certain comfort factors about flying in it.

Kudos to you for deciding to work on the instrument rating. I will be signing up for a ground school this winter, myself.

Tunnel vision can be dangerous.

This is a good lesson to learn, if not the only one. Just like you should be scanning your instruments you should mentally scan your options. Don't fixate on one instrument or one option.

As to the maintenance issue, which by itself might not have been so bad, there are several viable solutions. One is to get a handheld, as previously suggested. Another is to get your own plane and have it maintained the way you like. I had several flights get cancelled back when I rented due to maintenance issues, two of them from failing the run-up check! That seared into my mind that I needed MY PLANE which could then be maintained to MY STANDARDS. I know, I know - owning ain't cheap. But if ever there were a buyer's market this is it. Just something to consider.

One last thought about comm failures. I've only had one exchange where ATC couldn't hear my reply (I think I was too far from their radio site - I could hear them but they didn't hear my reply). After 2 tries to get me the next frequency (which I heard and had already dialed in on comm 2, still listening on both) they asked if I could copy their transmission to IDENT. I did, they called "IDENT observed" and wished me a nice day.

To the more ATC knowledgeable folks - is requesting an IDENT normal procedure if communications are getting hinky?

 

[SkyHog]

I have to ask - do you really think that I will "stop playing around with SVFR like it's no big deal", just because of this sort of snarky comment and your calling me a nut? of course I won't, I will continue to fly and gain experience and inevitably run into unexpected trouble and hopefully survive so I evolve my skills until the day I die. If that happens to be in a plane, cest la vie, it's a risky activity to begin with. And the positive from yesterday is that I gained tons of valuable experience that one simply does not gain from flying "perfect conditions" all the time.

Working on IR already. Expecting to finish it in a few months. Whether you approve or not, SVFR in the winter here is, MOST of the time, exactly "no big deal". The danger is not in utilizing this option. The specific danger relating to that is in getting too familiar with it so that one becomes lax about it. I was starting to do that, and yesterday set me straight, thankfully in the end with little drama (although with a lot of adrenaline).

I don't think it was meant in a mean way - take it like so:

1. It was pilot error. Admitting that will get you very close to learning the maximum amount from this.
2. SVFR is awesome, but its not always the best idea. You just experienced a case where its not the best idea. As you do this more, you'll get a better feel for when to go for it and when not to.

BTW, not mentioned before, methinks, the radio should have been about #15 on the list of problems in this flight. The radio didn't cause the problem, the clouds, the pilot, the other pilots, and the pressure to get home did.

Unless the radio grabbed control of the airplane and forced you to fly into SVFR in deteriorating weather.

Best advice I'll ever give in my life (I think) is the best advice I ever received with regards to SVFR:

Never attempt SVFR in deteriorating weather. SVFR is to be used when the weather is improving, as a means to cut the corner between waiting a few hours and going now. When the weather is getting crappy, it can go slow or it can go fast. Its probably not worth your life to bet that it'll go slow.

 

[Clark1961]

Hmmm, a poster leads off with "It was scary today" and then gets defensive when folks discuss very directly the aspects that made it scary. Sounds pretty much like typical human nature and behavior we've all participated in from time to time.

Others have pointed out the important bits: get the instrument rating, don't rely on SVFR, carry back-up comms (gotta cell phone?), remember your "outs" and be ready and willing to use them, learn more about the weather and predicting what will happen locally, continue training in order to keep the important flight safety items in mind while flying.

Your family is depending on you so don't let them down. Break as many links in the accident chain as you can before leaving the ground...

All this reminds me that it's about time to go fly with an instructor for a few hours, the last IPC was in June.

 

[bobmrg]

I have had precious little dealing with y'all's California weather, so I'm not going to sit in judgment of someone who sees it everyday and has certain comfort factors about flying in it.

Kudos to you for deciding to work on the instrument rating. I will be signing up for a ground school this winter, myself.


This is a good lesson to learn, if not the only one. Just like you should be scanning your instruments you should mentally scan your options. Don't fixate on one instrument or one option.

As to the maintenance issue, which by itself might not have been so bad, there are several viable solutions. One is to get a handheld, as previously suggested. Another is to get your own plane and have it maintained the way you like. I had several flights get cancelled back when I rented due to maintenance issues, two of them from failing the run-up check! That seared into my mind that I needed MY PLANE which could then be maintained to MY STANDARDS. I know, I know - owning ain't cheap. But if ever there were a buyer's market this is it. Just something to consider.

One last thought about comm failures. I've only had one exchange where ATC couldn't hear my reply (I think I was too far from their radio site - I could hear them but they didn't hear my reply). After 2 tries to get me the next frequency (which I heard and had already dialed in on comm 2, still listening on both) they asked if I could copy their transmission to IDENT. I did, they called "IDENT observed" and wished me a nice day.

To the more ATC knowledgeable folks - is requesting an IDENT normal procedure if communications are getting hinky?

Requesting an ident from whom? Controllers don't have an ident button. If they want you to ident they will ask you to.

Bob Gardner

 

[Morne]

If they want you to ident they will ask you to.

Exactly, which is what happened in my case of twitchy comms. ATC asked me to IDENT, I did, and everything was roses. In the OP's case, he may not have heard a request to IDENT had ATC requested it.

One of the problems here was that the pilot was not copying everything ATC said. Thus, my question is whether or not ATC folks routinely request an IDENT when comms seem to be intermittent. Or is this a workload-dependent tool they use?

I'm just trying to Monday morning quarterback this a little. Honestly, I think squawking 7600 might have been a good idea. After all, being able to copy only part of what ATC says can be just as bad as copying nothing.

 

[onwards]

This is a good lesson to learn, if not the only one. Just like you should be scanning your instruments you should mentally scan your options. Don't fixate on one instrument or one option.

Yeah. I felt pretty sheepish afterwards for allowing myself to fixate on the comm, instead of on, ah, making it somewhere safely. That was plain dumb once I was back down on the ground. Up in the air, for whatever reason, under the building stress, I indeed fixated. It was a really important experience for me, in terms of understanding in practice the psychological factors involved in flying. I knew the theory, but theory stayed in book learning form when the situation developed.

Another is to get your own plane and have it maintained the way you like.

YES! I am actually in the market for one, and fully intend to buy a plane in the next 12 months. It's not an issue of cost. I got very close to buying one last month. I recently decided to get my IR and complex first. You make a good point though.

they asked if I could copy their transmission to IDENT. I did, they called "IDENT observed" and wished me a nice day.

Interesting. Never experienced that myself, and obviously it did not happen yesterday.

 

[onwards]

Hmmm, a poster leads off with "It was scary today" and then gets defensive when folks discuss very directly the aspects that made it scary. Sounds pretty much like typical human nature and behavior we've all participated in from time to time.

LOL. I was getting defensive, wasn't I? sorry about that. Thanks for pointing it out. Admittedly human.

carry back-up comms (gotta cell phone?)

*mouth hanging wide open*

I AM an idiot, aren't I? I already HAVE the tower number in my cell phone, and my new Lightspeed Zulu2 bluetooths to it, and I was so low to the ground that I had great reception. ARGH! that would have been so easy, to just call them from the plane and say "hey, seems like we can't hear each other well, weather is starting to scare me, can you let me come in please?".

 

[Flying h4x0r]

There is a lot of good advice in this thread and I think you're taking it the wrong way. None of it should be taken personally, SVFR is something you've seen your instructor do multiple times and I can see how you'd naturally feel like it's "no big deal" and you've also done it many times without any problems so that is also clouding your judgement.

VFR flight into IMC is one of the leading cause of fatal accidents in general aviation, and I'm sure many of those pilots invovled have tried it many times in the past and have gotten away with it. Pushing their limits each time in the name of "more experience" until one time something goes wrong to push them over the edge. Maybe unfamiliar terrain, maybe icing, rapidly deteriorating weather, maybe even loss of communication.

Being NORDO in approaching IMC without an IFR clearance is never somewhere I'd want to be. You could have diverted, turned back to the VMC, declared an emergency, or a million different things that you as PIC feel you need to do, but the bottomline is that you kept your head straight and managed to come out of alive with your kids. Maybe it was superior airmanship or maybe it was just shear luck, either way good job!

 

[gismo]

*sigh* I SAID it wasn't VFR - it was SVFR. It was not IFR, though, at any point, for me. It WAS IFR for those coming in down through the clouds. They could have SVFR too, but if I were IFR rated I'd have done that, making the whole thing a non-event.

Just losing radios isn't a big deal. Agreed.

Losing partial radios right after being told to hold off coming in for a little while only to start experiencing rapidly deteriorating conditions like one has not before experienced while having one's kids on board was a big deal to me yesterday. For me, this was the first time I got right down seriously nervous flying, which is why I shared the story.

I do fly as much as I can, which is quite a bit - if I don't rely on SVFR for the period of Nov to May out here then I would be flying a LOT less. I would argue that flying a lot helps me maintain general piloting skills at a higher level, which means that when I get into trouble I have a higher chance of survival. I have to say that this whole notion that I should always be waiting for perfect conditions to perform this activity, to me anyway, sounds unrealistic and non-sensical.

My biggest lesson from yesterday - the important one - was not about "the choice to fly". I chose just fine. The lesson was about tunnel vision. The choice I SHOULD have made was divert as soon as too many things started going wrong at once. First radio not working? switch to number two. Two failing? try the Mike or some other alternate (I love the idea that someone mentioned of a handheld). Told to hold off in an uncomfortable location? focus on figuring out where to go instead of allowing myself to get boxed in. And the big one - weather is starting to change real rapidly from "been there done that" to "yikes"? forget about the damn radios and divert, divert, divert. THAT's my big lesson taken from yesterday. Tunnel vision can be dangerous.

I have no issue with your original intent to arrive SVFR with 800 and 9 miles visibility and I think you've nailed the real issue (delayed diverting too long). 800 and 9 aren't difficult conditions if you know the area well, don't have obstacles sticking up more than a couple hundred feel, and aren't screaming along at warp 9. This is, of course, assuming there were other airports within range that had better current and forecast weather at the airport and along your route to them.

Someone else mentioned "outs" and as you seem to have learned, one must always consider the timeliness of one's "outs" lest they become unavailable when needed. A lot of attention is often given to the Go/NoGo aspect of preflight action but IMO in most cases that is a convenience/inconvenience issue more than a safety one (assuming the pilot has the willpower to accept any necessary inconvenience. Much more crucial to safety is the continual "how gozit" aka, continue/divert decision making during the flight. On the preflight side one should assess the potential for weather and other inflight issues from two perspectives. One is for purposes of determining the potential need for alternatives to the intended flight and destination and investigating an appropriate number of such choices. That's the safety part of preflight planning (I can't tell from your posts if you performed adequately on that for this flight so I'll assume you did). The convenience/inconvenience aspect is the part where you decide (assuming it's safe to take off and return immediately if there's a problem) whether the consequences of diverting/aborting (i.e. not getting where you want to go) combined with the perceived likelihood of making it safely to the intended destination make the attempt worthwhile.

But again, once you launch, it's extremely important to stay on top of anything that might affect either your intended flight or your alternatives. I really believe that this is where many if not most pilots get into trouble weatherwise. We often hear about the pressure of "get there itis" and personally vow to avoid succumbing to that trap but I think that many accidents we put in the "get there itis" bin were really more like your recent situation where the pilot simply fails to realize that the safe alternatives have faded away by the time they're ready to execute plan B. In the future (whether or not you complete your IR) I suggest you make it a habit of reviewing your alternatives in flight both periodically (i.e. every time new wx becomes available if there's any chance of deterioration) and as soon as anything that might affect your original plan occurs. In your specific example, you missed at least two such events WRT checking your alternatives, the first being the destination dropping below VFR minimums (and by that I mean 3000 ft ceilings and 5+ miles vis, not 1000 and 3), and the second was the radio issue. Either one should have triggered an evaluation of your alternatives and in the case of the comm problem an immediate change of plans. That change could have been a diversion to somewhere you knew had good weather or perhaps a declared emergency (squawk 7600/7700 and head for the airport while the vis was still good). Even without the comm failure, when the weather started getting worse than 6 and 800 I think it would have been wise to either obtain an immediate SVFR clearance, declare an emergency, or divert since it appeared that the rapidly deteriorating weather was going to put you in the hurt locker if there was any additional delay.

And on that note (rapidly deteriorating weather) I also recommend strongly that in the future you pay close attention to that possibility if you're going to continue to make use of SVFR. This is one of the things you'll learn if you pursue the IR. Having an IR doesn't make you immune to weather, on the contrary it exposes you to more of if you attempt to take advantage of the ability to fly in the clouds. I'd be willing to bet that all of those pilots making instrument approaches into your home base that day had prepared for the possibility that they wouldn't be able to land there unless the lowering ceiling and visibility was completely unforecast and the next time you consider SVFR you should have made a similar effort before and/or during the flight.

So bottom line, expecting to get in SVFR wasn't by itself a major factor in your scare, nor was the loss of comm. It was the fact that once you chose to continue into deteriorating weather you had committed to a plan that could fall apart for something as common as a bad headset or radio and for some reason (stress, frustration etc) you failed to recognize the trap you'd laid out for yourself until it was sprung.

 

[John Baker]

It is really easy to offer sound advise from the comfort of our computer chair, as the OP noted. Having said that, it is really hard to think of all the great ideas when the lives of your kids are in your hands, and your visibility is diminishing. Under pressure, great ideas often take a back seat.

So, from the comfort of my little home computer station, with absolutely no pressure on me at all, I would like to add that in ground school, we were told that if you lose sight of your horizons, you have a genuine emergency.

Radios out or barely working, squawk 7600 immediately so the tower is aware you are not receiving them. Conditions deteriorating, change your squawk to 7700, that is your declaration of an emergency, than head for a safe landing. Look for light signals from the tower, but continue with your approach to land.

Another trick that will get everyones attention is to flip on your ELT. Be warned though, you will not be able to hear anything, on any frequency or radio except the ELT screeching signal.

You did have a genuine emergency. By yourself, perhaps you did everything right, but with passengers on board, that's another story.

Again, my comments are not coming from a cockpit in distress.

John

 

[onwards]

Gismo, fantastic post. Anyone trying to read these threads for learning purposes, this one is a must.

Someone else mentioned "outs" and as you seem to have learned, one must always consider the timeliness of one's "outs" lest they become unavailable when needed.

[...]

I think that many accidents we put in the "get there itis" bin were really more like your recent situation where the pilot simply fails to realize that the safe alternatives have faded away by the time they're ready to execute plan B.

This. This is gold. It hits the proverbial nail right on the head. I was so busy with the stupid radios and keeping the plane circling around in a small area with hills on both sides and making sure my kids were OK, and... all my alternative options, the ones I have well memorized, just did not become available to me brain-wise until it was too late for them to be of any use. And it's that moment, where I suddenly realized how well I painted myself into a corner, that the enormity of fixation hit me, and I became scared.

I also don't know that this is something one can really learn from a book. It's an experience like this that sears it into one's mind. Maybe I should try signing up for simulator sessions in various bad rapidly developing conditions? is this sort of course available?

 

[onwards]

Radios out or barely working, squawk 7600 immediately so the tower is aware you are not receiving them. Conditions deteriorating, change your squawk to 7700, that is your declaration of an emergency, than head for a safe landing. Look for light signals from the tower, but continue with your approach to land.

Yeah. My hand was on the encoder when I got that rapid exchange with Travis and handoff to CCR tower. If that did not happen, the next thing would have been 7600 and head in (is 7700 necessary at that point or is 7600 enough?).

Btw, CCR tried to hand me back off to Travis but at that point I insisted I needed to land. Don't know why I did not find my backbone until that point. Another point to consider.

 

[Flying h4x0r]

simulator sessions in various bad rapidly developing conditions? is this sort of course available?

Simulators can be programmed to put you in nearly any condition but I would highly recommend that you put that time and effort into getting your instrument rating instead.

 

[John Baker]

It does not matter what you do, but you gotta do something, anything, that will result in a safe landing. So you get in trouble with the rule mongers, so what? Your still alive.

John

 

[Clark1961]

I also don't know that this is something one can really learn from a book. It's an experience like this that sears it into one's mind. Maybe I should try signing up for simulator sessions in various bad rapidly developing conditions? is this sort of course available?

The Air Safety Foundation has a lot of good training material available on line. One in particular on VFR into IMC illustrates many of Gismo's points on evaluating when to divert. It's based on a true case in which a 1,000+ hour VFR pilot left Billings MT and managed to kill himself in Utah. He had many options to stop along the way but chose to continue. He finally turned back but it was too late with ceilings dropping in mountainous terrain.

 

[gprellwitz]

And invest in XM Weather.

I see the smiley, but I want to note that in this case XM almost certainly wouldn't have been timely enough. I find that I get new ATISs at a few minutes past the top of the hour.

Lesson learned. You did good. Next time divert sooner, you had your kids on board. Don't wait for things to get

yup, you need to make continual go/no-go decisions throughout the flight as conditions change lest you run out of options.

 

[Apache123]

Yeah. My hand was on the encoder when I got that rapid exchange with Travis and handoff to CCR tower. If that did not happen, the next thing would have been 7600 and head in (is 7700 necessary at that point or is 7600 enough?).

Btw, CCR tried to hand me back off to Travis but at that point I insisted I needed to land. Don't know why I did not find my backbone until that point. Another point to consider.

At a recent ASI seminar they brought in some local ATC. One thing they mentioned is that their radar recently changed to light up 7600 the same as 7700 and to treat it as an emergency. This was specifically controllers from Palwaukee Tower and Midway Tower (Chicago).

If your radio goes out, you're not instrument rated, the weather is deteriorating, and you're at the edge of their airspace just squawk 7600 and land. You are the pilot in command.

 

[bbchien]

I have to ask - do you really think that I will "stop playing around with SVFR like it's no big deal", just because of this sort of snarky comment and your calling me a nut? of course I won't, I will continue to fly and gain experience and inevitably run into unexpected trouble and hopefully survive so I evolve my skills until the day I die. If that happens to be in a plane, cest la vie, it's a risky activity to begin with. And the positive from yesterday is that I gained tons of valuable experience that one simply does not gain from flying "perfect conditions" all the time.

I haven't read any of the comments as snarky. Please don't take them that way.

Working on IR already. Expecting to finish it in a few months. Whether you approve or not, SVFR in the winter here is, MOST of the time, exactly "no big deal". The danger is not in utilizing this option. The specific danger relating to that is in getting too familiar with it so that one becomes lax about it. I was starting to do that, and yesterday set me straight, thankfully in the end with little drama (although with a lot of adrenaline).

Good. SVFR is playing around at the edge of your envelope unless you possess the next envelope. If you have the next envelope, there is no adrenaline and humans usually make better decisions without adrenaline. The edge is NOT where you want to be to live to be an old pilot. :0

 

[John Baker]

Suggesting that the OP should get his IFR, considering the area he operates from, is probably suggesting the obvious. That however does not help other VFR pilots, such as myself, learn from this particular incident.

This board is not composed of all IFR ratings, there are more than a few VFR only as well participating. The issue here is the OPs incident, and what you guys, IFRs included, would have done had you been in his shoes? What are the options available to him in that situation, with his present ratings?

How can we learn from this? What was done, what could have been done? Suggesting he run out right a way and get his IFR rating is of little value to this situation, even though it is sound advise, I somehow think the OP is clever enough to have deduced that himself.

This is an excellent learning thread, it should be milked for all its worth.

John

 

[gprellwitz]

Suggesting that the OP should get his IFR, considering the area he operates from, is probably suggesting the obvious. That however does not help other VFR pilots, such as myself, learn from this particular incident.

This board is not composed of all IFR ratings, there are more than a few VFR only as well participating. The issue here is the OPs incident, and what you guys, IFRs included, would have done had you been in his shoes? What are the options available to him in that situation, with his present ratings?

How can we learn from this? What was done, what could have been done? Suggesting he run out right a way and get his IFR rating is of little value to this situation, even though it is sound advise, I somehow think the OP is clever enough to have deduced that himself.

This is an excellent learning thread, it should be milked for all its worth.

John

Yes, it's "obvious", and the OP is already working on the IR. As a VFR pilot, what you could take away from this is that, even though SVFR is a tool in the bag, it is not without inherent risks, and one must always have alternative plans ready to implement and be willing to implement them. Getting an IR just adds to the potential alternatives. Of course, when to use those alternatives is a key thing. You can't open an instrument flight plan (or get SVFR) after you're NORDO! At that point, you will need to re-establish communications (and that needn't be via traditional means, either), go elsewhere (VFR), or declare an emergency.

As you say, there's a LOT of good information in this thread, and I agree with Dr. Bruce that I haven't seen anyone being "snarky." There are some legitimate differences of opinion and experiences, though.

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread!

 

[N801BH]

LOL..



*mouth hanging wide open*

I AM an idiot, aren't I? I already HAVE the tower number in my cell phone, and my new Lightspeed Zulu2 bluetooths to it, and I was so low to the ground that I had great reception. ARGH! that would have been so easy, to just call them from the plane and say "hey, seems like we can't hear each other well, weather is starting to scare me, can you let me come in please?".

I have done that when the tower radio failed..... I bet you remember that trick from now on. Ya just gotta love Lightspeeds and cellphones..

 

[John Baker]

Yes, it's "obvious", and the OP is already working on the IR. As a VFR pilot, what you could take away from this is that, even though SVFR is a tool in the bag, it is not without inherent risks, and one must always have alternative plans ready to implement and be willing to implement them. Getting an IR just adds to the potential alternatives. Of course, when to use those alternatives is a key thing. You can't open an instrument flight plan (or get SVFR) after you're NORDO! At that point, you will need to re-establish communications (and that needn't be via traditional means, either), go elsewhere (VFR), or declare an emergency.

As you say, there's a LOT of good information in this thread, and I agree with Dr. Bruce that I haven't seen anyone being "snarky." There are some legitimate differences of opinion and experiences, though.

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread!

Except for me, and I apologize. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I did not fully realize it until I went back and read my post again.

John

 

[John Baker]

I read the above comment about having the towers phone number on your cell phone. What a great idea, thought I. So I looked up the number and added it to my cell phone call list 0-000-000-0000. Then I decided to check it, I got their voice mail suggesting I leave a mesage......... Probably after the beep. I hung up before that was confirmed.

 

[bbchien]

I read the above comment about having the towers phone number on your cell phone. What a great idea, thought I. So I looked up the number and added it to my cell phone call list 1-858-277-5601. Then I decided to check it, I got their voice mail suggesting I leave a mesage......... Probably after the beep. I hung up before that was confirmed.

Try 277-5602. Usually the published one rings at the facility manager's secretary, unstaffed on weekends, but an adjacent number rings in the cab.