Have Some Compassion

Why is it when youre trying to do something good, the weather always turns bad? Todays mission is a Patient Airlift Services (PALS) flight from Montpelier, Vermont to Boston, Massachusetts. Your quick hop from your home base in Burlington, Vermont already gave you a decent instrument warm-up.

Editorial Staff

Wednesday, November 05, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A pilot on an IFR Patient Airlift Services (PALS) flight encounters severe radio static, a dancing CDI, and a GPS integrity flag, significantly impairing communication and navigation, with these issues noted since the aircraft's recent annual maintenance.
The article presents a series of questions challenging pilots on IFR departure procedures, lost communication protocols, emergency decision-making, and diagnosing the likely electrical or avionics malfunctions in this critical scenario.
It implicitly underscores the critical importance of instrument integrity, NOTAM awareness, and adherence to emergency procedures when facing multiple system failures in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).

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Why is it when you’re trying to do something good, the weather always turns bad? Today’s mission is a Patient Airlift Services (PALS) flight from Montpelier, Vermont to Boston, Massachusetts. Your quick hop from your home base in Burlington, Vermont already gave you a decent instrument warm-up.

The ILS 17 into Montpellier was extra fun because you missed the NOTAM for the glideslope being out of service and the radio static made understanding Boston Center extra challenging. Seems like static in the clouds has been the norm since your bird came out of annual last month. Luckily, ceilings were about 1000 feet with good visibility beneath.