Number 207
September 1996
Fuelish Thoughts for Weather-Wise Pilots
As summer drifts into fall, weather patterns become unsettled in many areas of the country, and unforecast storms may suddenly appear. Pilots may be required to deviate well off intended routes, and this in turn may cause carefully planned fuel reserves to vanish. Add an additional delay for holding, and a pilot’s options can become limited, as this commuter Captain reports:
“Dawn Patrol”
Fast-moving fog—and the well-known “sucker hole” that often accompanies it— surprised another reporter, a helicopter pilot en route to an early morning construction job. Fuel was not a critical issue in this incident, but this is certainly the sort of situation that can lead to fuel exhaustion.
s The forecast for ABC indicated no alternate was
needed. As we approached the area, [we received vectors for] deviating around thunderstorms. ABC Approach advised that no one was getting into ABC due to the thunderstorm activity...[but] hopefully in 15 minutes, Approach would be able to accommodate arrivals. I told Approach that we had “Minimum Fuel” and could only accept a short delay...and needed to land as soon as conditions improved. After about 10 minutes, I told the controller that we needed [a circling approach] for runway 20. As we were being vectored, the right low fuel warning light illuminated. On final approach, the controller stated that visibility was going down rapidly and it would be difficult to land on runway 20. I told the First Officer to declare an emergency because we had to land...due to low visibility [for runway 20], regardless of the tailwind component... We landed with about 450 lbs. total fuel. Both the Air Traffic Control Handbook and the AIM explain that a minimum fuel advisory is just that: an advisory. It does not indicate an emergency situation or imply a need for traffic priority. In order to receive traffic priority, pilots should declare an emergency. Even when an alternate has been determined, plans may still have to be changed, creating an additional demand on fuel supplies. An air carrier crew thought they had planned for all contingencies, but still were caught short.
s Takeoff was to be at [dawn]. Although I saw there was fog
immediately around the airport, it was clear with unrestricted visibility along the route of flight. Knowing my route was clear, I elected a Special VFR departure. As soon as I took off and climbed through a large hole in the clouds, I saw that the weather had changed dramatically and that I was on top of an overcast layer which went for miles in all directions. I also realized that I could no longer return to my departure airport—my hole had disappeared. I had to ask Tower for a radar fix to be certain I didn’t violate the nearby Class B airspace, and because I had lost contact with the ground. After deviating several miles out of my way, I found the earth again approximately 10 minutes later. I knew better. The marine layer around here has dramatic changes at dawn and dusk. I had seen this before, but never this dramatically. I have made a personal promise to myself…to think twice on “dawn patrol” takeoffs.
“Hands Across the Water”
s Our flight was called upon to contact another air
carrier that was reported lost. We made contact with the aircraft, and confirmed that they were geographically disoriented and had less than 20 minutes of fuel remaining. Through a radio relay with the controlling agency, the aircraft’s position was determined and a vector heading was given to the nearest airport. The modest reporting crew can be credited with averting a disaster. Here’s the rest of the story obtained from an ASRS callback conversation to the reporters: The crew of a foreign air carrier with over 100 passengers on board, became disoriented on the over-water flight. Since the aircraft was out of radar and communications range of the foreign ATC Center, the reporting crew relayed information between the foreign aircraft and the Center. En route to land, the errant aircraft did run out of fuel, but had enough altitude to glide to a landing just short of the airport. Only minor injuries were reported. Kudos to the reporting flight crew for a job well done!
s We departed…allowing 3,500 lbs fuel for our alternate and 2,500 lbs for holding. Upon our arrival at the XYZ area, a line of thunderstorms had moved directly over the area, including over XYZ airport. We deviated around the weather… We decided to divert to ABC instead of our original alternate, because weather at the original had deteriorated also. [As we neared ABC], Approach Control told us to get in line with other aircraft, requiring us to go about 80 miles around ABC and back through some storms, and thus leaving us no other options because of low fuel. The Captain said we were fuel critical. So an emergency was declared, and we were vectored for the ILS. We landed with our minimum reserve fuel.
ASRS Recently Issued Alerts On...
Gear door hinge failure on a Socata TBM-700 In-flight discharge of a passenger oxygen generator Recurring ASR-9 radar failures at a Florida TRACON Cabin smoke from an SA-227's ruptured hydraulic line False localizer signals on approach to a Mexican airport
A Monthly Safety Bulletin from The Office of the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System, P.O. Box 189, Moffett Field, CA 94035-0189
June 1996 Report Intake
Air Carrier Pilots General Aviation Pilots Controllers Cabin/Mechanics/Military/Other 1650 666 159 27
TOTAL
2502
飞行翻译公司 www.aviation.cn 本文链接地址：美国ASRS安全公告CALLBACK cb_207.pdf
September 1996
Fuelish Thoughts for Weather-Wise Pilots
As summer drifts into fall, weather patterns become unsettled in many areas of the country, and unforecast storms may suddenly appear. Pilots may be required to deviate well off intended routes, and this in turn may cause carefully planned fuel reserves to vanish. Add an additional delay for holding, and a pilot’s options can become limited, as this commuter Captain reports:
“Dawn Patrol”
Fast-moving fog—and the well-known “sucker hole” that often accompanies it— surprised another reporter, a helicopter pilot en route to an early morning construction job. Fuel was not a critical issue in this incident, but this is certainly the sort of situation that can lead to fuel exhaustion.
s The forecast for ABC indicated no alternate was
needed. As we approached the area, [we received vectors for] deviating around thunderstorms. ABC Approach advised that no one was getting into ABC due to the thunderstorm activity...[but] hopefully in 15 minutes, Approach would be able to accommodate arrivals. I told Approach that we had “Minimum Fuel” and could only accept a short delay...and needed to land as soon as conditions improved. After about 10 minutes, I told the controller that we needed [a circling approach] for runway 20. As we were being vectored, the right low fuel warning light illuminated. On final approach, the controller stated that visibility was going down rapidly and it would be difficult to land on runway 20. I told the First Officer to declare an emergency because we had to land...due to low visibility [for runway 20], regardless of the tailwind component... We landed with about 450 lbs. total fuel. Both the Air Traffic Control Handbook and the AIM explain that a minimum fuel advisory is just that: an advisory. It does not indicate an emergency situation or imply a need for traffic priority. In order to receive traffic priority, pilots should declare an emergency. Even when an alternate has been determined, plans may still have to be changed, creating an additional demand on fuel supplies. An air carrier crew thought they had planned for all contingencies, but still were caught short.
s Takeoff was to be at [dawn]. Although I saw there was fog
immediately around the airport, it was clear with unrestricted visibility along the route of flight. Knowing my route was clear, I elected a Special VFR departure. As soon as I took off and climbed through a large hole in the clouds, I saw that the weather had changed dramatically and that I was on top of an overcast layer which went for miles in all directions. I also realized that I could no longer return to my departure airport—my hole had disappeared. I had to ask Tower for a radar fix to be certain I didn’t violate the nearby Class B airspace, and because I had lost contact with the ground. After deviating several miles out of my way, I found the earth again approximately 10 minutes later. I knew better. The marine layer around here has dramatic changes at dawn and dusk. I had seen this before, but never this dramatically. I have made a personal promise to myself…to think twice on “dawn patrol” takeoffs.
“Hands Across the Water”
s Our flight was called upon to contact another air
carrier that was reported lost. We made contact with the aircraft, and confirmed that they were geographically disoriented and had less than 20 minutes of fuel remaining. Through a radio relay with the controlling agency, the aircraft’s position was determined and a vector heading was given to the nearest airport. The modest reporting crew can be credited with averting a disaster. Here’s the rest of the story obtained from an ASRS callback conversation to the reporters: The crew of a foreign air carrier with over 100 passengers on board, became disoriented on the over-water flight. Since the aircraft was out of radar and communications range of the foreign ATC Center, the reporting crew relayed information between the foreign aircraft and the Center. En route to land, the errant aircraft did run out of fuel, but had enough altitude to glide to a landing just short of the airport. Only minor injuries were reported. Kudos to the reporting flight crew for a job well done!
s We departed…allowing 3,500 lbs fuel for our alternate and 2,500 lbs for holding. Upon our arrival at the XYZ area, a line of thunderstorms had moved directly over the area, including over XYZ airport. We deviated around the weather… We decided to divert to ABC instead of our original alternate, because weather at the original had deteriorated also. [As we neared ABC], Approach Control told us to get in line with other aircraft, requiring us to go about 80 miles around ABC and back through some storms, and thus leaving us no other options because of low fuel. The Captain said we were fuel critical. So an emergency was declared, and we were vectored for the ILS. We landed with our minimum reserve fuel.
ASRS Recently Issued Alerts On...
Gear door hinge failure on a Socata TBM-700 In-flight discharge of a passenger oxygen generator Recurring ASR-9 radar failures at a Florida TRACON Cabin smoke from an SA-227's ruptured hydraulic line False localizer signals on approach to a Mexican airport
A Monthly Safety Bulletin from The Office of the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System, P.O. Box 189, Moffett Field, CA 94035-0189
June 1996 Report Intake
Air Carrier Pilots General Aviation Pilots Controllers Cabin/Mechanics/Military/Other 1650 666 159 27
TOTAL
2502
飞行翻译公司 www.aviation.cn 本文链接地址：美国ASRS安全公告CALLBACK cb_207.pdf
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