It was a bright sunny morning in Sarasota, Florida, as I headed out on my first solo cross-country fight. I was in a Cessna 152 I had flown many times; my destination was Ft. Myers, and I had flown there several times with my instructor as well.
As I neared Ft. Myers, Florida’s unpredictable summer thunderstorms completely covered my approach. The 152 started bouncing as I drew closer, and I had to make a decision: Should I try flying around the thunderstorm and approach Ft. Myers from the south? It looked like I could easily fly out west over the Gulf of Mexico and fly around the storm. I finally decided that this may be a risky choice and decided to radio Ft. Myers approach to see if they were covered with rain and what they would suggest. To my surprise, no one answered. I repeated but no response. I tried other stations, but no response. The radio was not working!
