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When Plans Unravel

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A pilot faced rapidly deteriorating weather en route to their planned destination, necessitating an unplanned diversion despite initial favorable forecasts.
  • The pilot's legacy GPS and limited navigation equipment severely restricted available instrument approaches, forcing reliance on less common procedures like an LDA (Localizer-Type Directional Aid) due to modern RNAV requirements and out-of-service navaids.
  • After successfully diverting, the pilot meticulously planned and executed a challenging IFR departure from the diversion airport, navigating obstacle limitations and specific climb gradient requirements before finally reaching the original destination as weather cleared.
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Diversions to an alternate, while achievable in an instant by selecting “Direct To” from the “Nearest” list, might not be so quick when facing weather and equipment limitations. Even a pre-planned, filed alternate doesn’t always work out due to unforeseen weather or outages. So finding a new destination on the fly requires some quick decision making. That’s exactly what happens during one leg of this tri-state trip. It’s one thing to divert for hazardous weather; it’s another to push your single-pilot workload right upto the limit when the options get tight.

Plan A, B, C

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