Miss Opportunity Approaches

Im either lucky or I dont fly enough: In more than 30 years of flying airplanes for personal transportation, Ive had to execute a for-real missed approach in IMC exactly twice. On both occasions, weather was the main culprit. At least thats my excuse. Both flights ended after a successful ILS approach. Of course, those two occasions dont include the trips I delayed or didnt make for weather-related reasons. In more than one instance, Ive waited out weather but still arrived at my destination before I had to be there. Theres no real secret to this kind of reliable personal-airplane use. Its a fairly simple matter of planning, keeping open as many options as possible, knowing what the options are and then-when its necessary-making the decision to execute the appropriate plan.

Key Takeaways:

• Pilots must always plan for a missed approach as a standard part of IFR flying, proactively preparing a clear Plan B (e.g., an alternate approach or airport) well in advance.
• Do not repeatedly attempt the same approach without understanding what went wrong and being able to fix it; instead, adapt to deteriorating weather trends and maintain multiple contingency plans for diversions.
• Effective IFR flying emphasizes proactive preparation during stable flight, ensuring all options and plans are ready before needed to minimize stress and ensure smoother execution.

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