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:

The pilot accepted an ATC shortcut over open water in a single-engine plane, placing them out of gliding distance from shore and into an unforecasted severe weather system.
Critical safety oversights included insufficient survival gear (only life vests, not worn), no personal ELTs, and relying on ATC for weather information rather than proactive pilot assessment.
The experience highlights the pilot's responsibility to thoroughly evaluate route changes, manage personal safety equipment for overwater flights, and actively monitor and avoid adverse weather, rather than solely trusting ATC.

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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.