Seeing is Believing

Wednesday, July 26, 2023 at 08:58 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The "AWOS trap" highlights that automated weather reports (AWOS) may not accurately reflect actual in-flight conditions, leading to discrepancies in reported ceiling and visibility during low-IFR approaches.
Approaches with "Visual Segment - Obstacles" notes require pilots to visually acquire and avoid obstacles below the MDA, emphasizing the need for reliable visual conditions which can be compromised by misleading weather reports.
Despite thorough pre-flight planning with ample fuel and alternate airports, the pilot experienced two missed approaches due to actual conditions being worse than reported, reinforcing the importance of conservative decision-making and not descending below MDA without adequate visual reference.

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Your flight is short—just over an hour. What could happen? A lot. Solid clouds can develop on the way and hunker down into low bases by the time you descend for the destination. If it’s misty underneath, visibility likes to swing from marginal to none. Well, that’s why missed approaches and alternates exist. Meanwhile, it could all burn off into a beautiful VMC day any minute. So if you decide to bank on that and rely on local weather reports, just know that they might lead you astray.

Fat on Fuel