Single-Engine Flight Over Open Water Goes Direct Into Danger

Decision to accept ‘shortcut’ from ATC leads to harrowing experience.

Wednesday, December 03, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

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The author says, ‘All I thought was, ‘Great, I can save some time going direct,’ and he accepted. (He did the math later, and it only saved about 12 minutes.) [Illustration: Joel Kimmel]

Key Takeaways:

Do not blindly accept ATC route changes without fully understanding the potential repercussions, especially concerning safety and environment (e.g., flying over open water).
Pilots are ultimately responsible for weather avoidance and should not solely rely on ATC to keep them out of bad weather.
When flying a single-engine aircraft over open water, ensure adequate emergency equipment, such as personal ELTs, rafts, and correctly worn flotation devices, is carried and utilized.

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The plan was simple enough. My girlfriend—now my wife—and I were going to fly to the Bahamas to meet up with my brother, his wife, and my dad. The plan was to first connect with my brother in Fort Myers, Florida, then hop over to Palm Beach, and finally fly to Freeport. I should note that I always file IFR on these types of trips.

The first leg, from Georgetown Executive Airport (KGTU) in Texas to Gulf Shores International Airport (KJKA) in Alabama, was uneventful. We fueled up and received a weather briefing that indicated the usual convective activity over Florida, but our proposed IFR route looked fine.