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:

A pilot recounts the difficult decision to cancel a long-planned flight due to multiple adverse factors, including a cold front with convective activity along the route.
Additional challenges included a partially closed runway at the destination airport, combined with an unavailable ILS and forecast ceilings at RNAV minimums, increasing the risk of a missed approach.
Despite being instrument-current, the pilot's comfort level with low IFR conditions, coupled with the cumulative risks, led to the difficult decision to cancel a day ahead.
The decision was validated the following morning when the home field experienced zero-zero fog, reinforcing the pilot's choice to prioritize safety and reschedule the mission for better conditions.

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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.