The No-Go Decision

The mission was a simple day trip from my home field in southwest Florida to a familiar destination in north-central Georgia of 407 nm, planned to take 2+30 one-way. Spend a few hours on the ground visiting with an old friend, grab a late lunch, then hop back home later the same day. The airplane was ready and willing. But the weather wasnt cooperating as I wanted. The destination airport offered its own challenges. And while I was instrument-current, I wasnt as proficient with low IFR as I would have liked.

Editorial Staff

Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The author canceled a long-planned flight due to a combination of challenging en-route weather (convective activity from a cold front) and difficult conditions at the destination airport.
Destination airport issues included a closed runway and partial closure of another, an unavailable ILS, a slight tailwind, and forecast ceilings at RNAV minimums, creating a high risk of a missed approach.
The difficult decision to cancel a day ahead was validated the next morning by unexpected zero-zero fog at the home field, reinforcing the prudence of prioritizing safety and rescheduling for better conditions.

See a mistake? Contact us.

I scrubbed a long-planned flight recently. In hindsight, it turned out to be a no-brainer, but it was a difficult decision to make a day ahead of time, especially since it also created some drama and possible ill will. In all, the process by which I made the decision is something of a case study. Let me tell you why.

The mission was a simple day trip from my home field in southwest Florida to a familiar destination in north-central Georgia of 407 nm, planned to take 2+30 one-way. Spend a few hours on the ground visiting with an old friend, grab a late lunch, then hop back home later the same day. The airplane was ready and willing. But the weather wasn’t cooperating as I wanted. The destination airport offered its own challenges. And while I was instrument-current, I wasn’t as proficient with low IFR as I would have liked.