No, No, I Won't Go!

No, No, I Won’t Go!

Tom Benenson

Friday, June 20, 2008 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The article highlights the critical importance of making a safe "go/no-go" decision in general aviation, especially when weather conditions are borderline, as exemplified by the author's personal experience of cancelling a flight due to anticipated freezing rain.
It emphasizes that prioritizing safety by delaying or canceling a flight, despite internal or external pressures, is always the correct choice, often leading to a sense of relief and validation.
Pilots must practice continuous risk assessment, utilizing tools like automated maintenance alerts and in-flight weather systems, not just before but also during a flight, to adapt to changing conditions.
The author advocates for pilots to educate passengers and managing expectations to alleviate pressure to fly in unsafe conditions, reinforcing that flexibility in scheduling is a fundamental aspect of general aviation.

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I didn’t sleep very well. I kept going over the DUAT weather briefing in my mind trying to make it read better than I knew it did. I was scheduled to fly the short flight over to Exxel Avionics at Hartford (Connecticut)-Brainard Airport (KHFD) to have the biennial IFR certification performed on my Cardinal.

In January, the aircraftlogs.com logbook program had automatically sent me an e-mail alert warning that the requirement for the biennial recertification of my two transponders and the altimeter system had gone from green to yellow. I had programmed the software to first alert me with the change to yellow a month before the month the certification was actually due. Again, as programmed, on the first of February I got a second e-mail from aircraftlogs.com, this time warning me with a red alert that the certification was due before the end of the current month. As religious as I am about the items that have to be periodically completed in order to keep both me and the airplane current, it’s easy for things to slip by. Having aircraftlogs.com keeping me legal and up to date has been a real help.