Weather Flyer

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Single-Engine Pilot Lands Twin TurboProp at Fort Meyers

2009-09-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

On April 12, 2009, a Beech B200 turboprop (N559DW) was landed uneventfully by a pilot-rated passenger at Fort Meyers, Florida. The flight began from Marco Island, Florida. Shortly after the certificated airline transport pilot completed the climb checklist, the owner, who was a single-engine priavte pilot and sitting in the right seat, noticed that the pilot's head was down and both hands were at his sides. As the airplane continued to climb through 6000 feet, the owner attempted to get the pilot's attention but he made an audible sound which increased in intensity, and the pilot's right hand fell off his thigh. The pilot did not make any further sounds. The owner declared an emergency, and advised the controller that he needed to speak to someone familiar with the Beech B200.

The Beech B200 is a twin-turboprop transport and utility aircraft with a flight deck that seats a crew of two and is fitted with dual controls although it can be flown by a single pilot. The B200 has a service ceiling of 35000 feet and a cruise speed of 290 knots (about 330 MPH) at 25000 feet. While in contact with Miami Center, the flight continued climbing on a on a northerly heading to about 17000 feet. Communications were then transferred to Fort Meyers Approach Control who helped the owner through the process of disengaging the autopilot, initiating a descent, and with heading changes.

Communications were then transferred to Fort Myers Approach Control. While in contact with Approach, the controller helped the owner with vectors toward Fort Meyers (KRSW), and details about the landing gear, flaps, power levers, and airspeed settings. Fortunately weather was not a problem (i.e., VMC), and finally the flight was vectored for a 15-mile final for RWY 6. The owner landed uneventfully, and taxied onto a taxiway where the engines were secured.

Click here to listen to the audio between the pilot and the controller during this emergency.

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Source: NTSB #ERA09IA240

Should VOR's Have Names?

2009-08-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

Recently a widebody transport aircraft was enroute to Houston Intercontinental (KIAH) when the radios developed static that interfered with ATC instructions while holding near thunderstorms. Houston ATC directed the aircraft, using phonetics, to the Leona VOR, but the clearance understood by the crew was to the LEONA intersection. As the First Officer of the aircraft notes, this raises the question of why VORs even need names at all when modern flight management systems are in use.

We were placed in holding northeast of IAH. AUS was our alternate. There were thunderstorms and we were placed in high altitude holding. We were concerned about fuel and the Controller advised that the delay may be long enough to cause a divert to AUS. If we waited, we were advised that we would be sent to the other side of the field for a different arrival -- not specified. Eventually, a cell neared our holding location. We asked to be moved and while waiting, the static on the radios made hearing Center very difficult. Eventually, the Captain and I both heard the Controller phonetically spelling L-E-O-N-A. That is what the Captain even wrote on his scratch paper. I was typing that in the FMS and hit direct. We were on about a 210 degree heading when another aircraft relayed a new frequency to us. At some point there we also heard to join an arrival off of LEONA. We checked on with the new Controller who asked where we were going. We told him LEONA. He gave us a new heading to 270 degree and told us it was the LOA (LEONA) VOR and not the LEONA Intersection. This all happened very quickly, but there were several factors that could have changed what happened. 1) If it were possible (and I don't know if it was) to give us the name of the expected arrival from the other side of the airport, we would have already seen that there was a VOR named LEONA. 2) The Controller could have phonetically spelled the VOR ID and not the VOR name. This raises the question of why VORs even need names at all in an FMS environment. 3) We could have had faster situational awareness of the fact that an intersection 400 miles away was probably a misunderstanding. Luckily it was solved easily and quickly as we regained communication ability.

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Source: FAA ASRS Database, ACN #830144

Icing the Dash-8

2009-05-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

According to the NTSB, more than 25 accidents occur annually due to inflight icing. Here is an account by a Dash-8 Captain with 5200 hours of logged time explaining icing experiences:

We started picking up Super Cooled Large Droplets or as I call it huge water drops which go beyond a foot after contact before they freeze on the windshield. If it goes farther, then it is getting behind our deicing equipment in my experience. Every time I have seen -8 degrees C and clear ice I had gotten an inch of ice within a minute and also every time requested lower right away.

The worst time was southeast of Aspen where it accumulated at more than 2 inches within the first minute. I lost my windshield completely, put the props to 1200 RPM and told my First Officer who was also a newer Captain flying right seat at the time we needed lower as soon as possible!

We were on vectors and within that first minute we had so much ice on us we had lost 15 KTS which is not normally something the Dash does at all in icing. I knew we could not climb out of it in time, so when ATC gave us lower I had the autopilot off and dove down at 3,000-4,000 FPM to 16,000 FT to get out of that temperature of -8 degrees C. At 16,000 FT we were still picking up light rime but it was +3 degrees C and not a concern anymore. However, that minute and a half or so at -8 degrees C and in Super Cooled Large Droplet conditions had dumped so much ice on the plane I could barely see out my left window at the boots and prop hub.

They were loaded with ice. I felt the plane was limping along. The plane was shaking violently with all the ice on the props. I had had the ice systems on maximum the entire flight. We finally broke out of IMC and [Center] wanted us to call the airport in sight, but I told them we needed to fly for a bit and get lower to melt all the ice as I couldn't see out my window to land. We got lower yet and by -2 to -1 degrees C the ice started breaking off and melting. We finally got cleared for the visual but by the time I started to configure for landing we had melted all the ice.

Excerpted from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ACN 823412)

High winds at Gary?

2009-05-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the METAR this morning for Gary/Chicago Intl Airport in Gary, Indiana:

KGYY 221245Z 350112KT 15SM BKN250 13/10 A3019

Winds from 350 at 112 knots!? The winds since the early morning hours have been from 350 at 8 to 10 knots, so I'm guessing this is just a bad reading by the automated bits on the field.

Distracted by Tower

2009-05-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

Distracted by a Tower request to adjust the transponder, the Captain of a Cessna Citation with 23000 hours (1800 hours in type) crosses the active runway at Houston Hobby (KHOU) without a clearance.

We were taxiing out for takeoff and were cleared to taxi from the FBO to Runway 4 at HOU. As we approached Runway 4, Ground Control called us to ask us to turn our squawk on. I looked over and we were already squawking the proper numbers on both transponders. Rather than let the First Officer handle his job (which he was very capable of doing), I became distracted and taxied across the approach end of Runway 4 to get in line behind a commuter jet holding short of another runway, I believe Runway 35. Of course, my mind was telling me he was holding short of Runway 4 and we were going to follow him. Fortunately, there was no other traffic on the approach to Runway 4 and, therefore, no conflicts with anyone else. This is 'proof positive' that no matter how many hours/years of experience one has, if you lose your concentration for only a moment, it could certainly turn out much worse than this -- a valuable lesson learned by a very experienced pilot. Also, I might add, a very lucky one! This was discovered by Hobby Tower, they told us that we had crossed Runway 4 and to do a 180 degree turn and cleared us for takeoff from the other side. Since there was no conflict -- no harm/no foul, but it is my duty to report this because if this report were to help prevent just one conflict/accident, then it is certainly worth my time.

Report from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ACN: 818328).

Performance Based Navigation (PBN)

2009-05-20T05:10:00.000-07:00

Traffic plots made at Chicago Rockford International without and with a PBN design. Source: Miller, S. 2009. Contribution of Flight Systems to Performance-Based Navigation. Aero Magazine. 2:21-28

The FAA defines Performance Based Design (PBN) as "a framework for defining navigation performance requirements that can be applied to an air traffic route, instrument procedure, or defined airspace". The goal of PBN is to consolidate the different types of RNAV and RNP in such a way as to design and implement more accurate and efficient automated flight paths. PBN is the next step forward in the evolution of aeronautical navigation.

Conventional navigation relied on radio beacons, such as VOR, DME and NDB. After RNAV was introduced, airplanes would fly to waypoints that weren't tied to ground-based navaids. RNP, which is based on RNAV, optimized the airspace even further by replacing strict point-to-point routes with more gradual turns.

According to Boeing, which has included RNP capability in every airplane, PBN will result in a significant reduction in track miles through reduced vectoring, saving time, fuel, and emissions. With PBN, the airplane’s own capability determines whether it can safely achieve the specified performance and qualify for the operation. One example of this is the SAAAR approach (i.e., Special Aircraft and Aircrew Authorization Required). CAT II/III approaches are essentially SAAAR, but they assume you're already lined up on final. An example of a PBN-type SAAAR approach is the Palm Springs RNAV RNP Z Rwy 13R apporach (below), which has a finely tuned narrow obstacle clearance path, optimized turn radii, a seamless vertical path.

Distribution of Flight Rules

2009-05-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

I took a quick look at the distribution of flight rules today, focusing on Part 139 airports in the lower 48 (CONUS). Not surprisingly, most airports are VFR or MVFR, making up more than 97% of all flight rules. IFR airports made up 2.23% of the sample. Note that this is just one observation! Currently, the weather in the CONUS is pretty good, with only 3% of Part 139 airports reporting rain, and 22% reporting broken or overcast ceilings.

Low IFR in Roanoke

2009-05-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Roanoke Regional Airport/Woodrum Field (KROA) was featured in a recent issue of IFR Refresher because of it's LDA approaches and rugged surrounds. That LDA may come in handy, but perhaps not handy enough this morning. Currently KROA has low IFR (with a model index of 71) with winds from 150 at 4 knots, visibility 1/2 miles in light rain and fog. Overcast layer at 100. Winds favor runway 15, but the LDA is for Runway 6 and the only ILS approach is for Runwnay 33. Current pressure and density altitudes are 1175 and 4220 feet, respectively.

METAR:
KROA 041354Z 15004KT 1/2SM -RA FG OVC001 13/13 A2992

TAF:
2009/05/04 14:16
KROA 041416Z 0414/0512 15005KT 1/2SM FG OVC001
FM041500 12005KT 2SM -SHRA OVC005
FM041600 24006KT P6SM VCSH SCT012 OVC025
FM042100 27010KT P6SM BKN035
FM050100 31007KT P6SM BKN025
FM050800 VRB04KT 6SM BR OVC007

G1000 PC Trainer

2009-05-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

Garmin's G1000 piloy training sim is reviewed by Aviation Mentor:

G1000 PC Trainer

Champaign-Urbana

2009-04-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

This morning, University of Illinois/Willard Airport is reporting low IFR conditions with a model index of 72:

KCMI 301245Z 14014KT 1 1/4SM -RA BR BKN003 BKN015 OVC095 17/16 A2991

The winds are from 140 at 14 knots, visibility 1.25 miles in light rain and mist. Broken layer at 300, broken 1500, overcast 9500. Temperature 62.6*F, dewpoint 60.8*F, relative humidity is 94 percent. The barometric pressure is 29.91

Expect Runway 18 - pressure altitude is 794, and density altitude is 4531

IFR and Crosswinds

2009-04-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

KGDV 291255Z AUTO 05014G21KT 5SM BKN009 OVC047 06/04 A2988

Dawson Community Airport in Glendive is currently IFR with winds from 050 at 14 knots, gusting to 21 knots, visibility 5 miles. Broken layer at 900, overcast 4700. Temperature 42.8*F, dewpoint 39.2*F, relative humidity is 87 percent. The barometric pressure is 29.88 Wind chill 35*F

Another complication is the wind. On the longest runway, RWY 12, there is a left crosswind component of 14 knots.

METAR Decoding

2009-04-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

Here is the current base METAR for San Antonio:
KSAT 281253Z 08006KT 1/8SM R12R/2600V3000FT -RA BR VV001 19/18 A3013

The wxJabber model index is 78 and conditions are LIFR. The METAR is decoded: San Antonio reporting winds from 080 at 6 knots, visibility 0.125 miles, and vertical visibility at 100 feet in light rain and mist. The RVR for Runway 12R is variable between 2600 and 3000 feet. The temperature 66.2*F, dewpoint 64.4*F, relative humidity is 94 percent. The barometric pressure is 30.13.

Historical data reveals that conditions at San Antonio have been LIFR since at least 3:00 A.M., and the TAF indicates soggy conditions for the rest of the day:

http://flightaware.com/live/airport/KSAT/wx

Corsicana, Texas

2009-04-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

This is not the place to fly into or out of today. Currently, Corsicana is Low IFR with CAT II: winds 290 at 22 knots, gusting to 30 knots, visibility 3/4 miles in rain and mist. Few clouds at 1000, broken 1900, overcast 2600. Thunder Storms. Temperature 64.4*F, dewpoint 60.8*F, relative humidity is 88 percent. The barometric pressure is 30.05

For information about aviation weather check out FlightAware's weather page at http://flightaware.com/resources/weather_maps/

Tough weather in Austin

2009-04-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

KAUS 171253Z 10007KT 1 1/2SM BR OVC003 19/19 A2991

Winds 100 at 6 knots. Visibility 1.5 miles in mist. Overcast 300 feet. Temperature is 66F (19C), dewpoint 66F (19C), relative humidity 100% Altimeter 29.91

CAT IIIb at Staunton

2009-04-16T07:13:00.001-07:00

KSHD 161300Z AUTO 00000KT M1/4SM FG OVC001 04/04 A3031 * CAT IIIb

According to my calculations the conditions at KSHD would probably require a CAT IIIb approach to land. But then does KSHD have a low IFR approach? No...but after you execute your missed approach you can climb to 1900 then making a climbing left turn to 3600 and hold over the outer marker until conditions improve.

Staunton/Waynesboro/Harrisonburg reporting calm winds, visibility 0.25 miles in fog. Overcast layer at 100. Temperature 39.2*F, dewpoint 39.2*F, relative humidity is 100 percent. The barometric pressure is 30.31

http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/KSHD

Runway Visual Range

2009-04-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

Real time access to RVR data at airports in the US. My favorite is the RVR Monitor. Currently Charlotte (KCLT), Memphis (BNA) and Baltimore/DC (KBWI) are indicating RVRs less than the cutoff of 6500 feet. The lowest is currently Charlotte with an RVR of 2000 feet, though the 1452Z METAR doesn't indicate this:

Charlotte reporting winds 242 at 4 knots, visibility 2.5 miles in mist. Overcast layer at 400. Temperature 55.4*F, dewpoint 53.6*F, relative humidity is 94 percent. The barometric pressure is 29.79

RVR Home
http://rvr.fly.faa.gov/rvr/index.html

RVR Monitor
http://rvr.fly.faa.gov/rvr-cgi-bin/rvr-status.pl

Snowy IFR

2008-11-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

Fresh snow! The first big snows of the year have hit the north central and northeast states this week, and have brought with them the usual obscuration that accompanies any precipitation. According to Thomas Sullivan (Northeast Weather Blog), a very January-like pattern has set up for the Northeast this week and there will be an enhancement of snow showers followed by a reinforcing shot of cold air and a reorganization of the lake effect activity.

This morning, 4F dispatchers issued a snowy IFR flight from Wilkes-Barre in Pennsylvania to Nantucket Memorial Airport in Massachusetts. For departure, you can lift off VFR because Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is reporting winds 350 at 10 knots, visibility 10 miles. Scattered clouds at 3000, broken 3700. Temperature 27F, dewpoint 12F - the wind chill is 16F.

KACK 191453Z 36022G31KT 2SM -SN BR SCT014 BKN022 OVC045 00/M02 A2991

As you can see above the METAR indicates that sometime enroute you'll want to pick up that IFR clearance. Nantucket is reporting winds 360 at 22 knots, gusting to 31 knots, visibility 2 miles in light snow and mist. Scattered clouds at 1400, broken 2200, overcast 4500. The temperature dewpoint spread is a little tighter too - with temperature 32F, dewpoint 28F, and relative humidity at 86 percent. Snow is likely to continue to fall until this afternoon as the skies clear, but look for gusty winds to continue through early evening.

Decoding Lesson #1

2008-10-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (KAUS) is located in the capitol of Texas. Austin is typically a relatively dry place compared to most of the state to the south, yet conditions can be stormy, or as is the case today, foggy! Here's the current surface observation:

KAUS 221253Z 00000KT 1/4SM R17L/1200V1600FT FG OVC001 17/17 A3000

At 1253Z (7:53 AM CDT) winds were calm (00000KT) and visibility was a quarter of a mile (1/4SM). At this hour Austin is also reporting Runway Visual Range (RVR). The code follows the visibility token because RVR is calculated from visibility, ambient light level, and runway light intensity, and is the maximum distance at which the runway, or the runway lights can be seen.

In this case, the RVR is for Runway 17L, the only runway at Austin that has CAT II/III approaches. The 1200V1600FT part of the RVR token in this METAR indicates that the runway is visibile from between 1200 to 1600 feet (V=variable).

If you were wondering what was causing the poor visibility in the Lone Star State's capitol this morning, just refer to the next token: "FG" - it's the symbol used for fog. Also, the ceiling is reported overcast at 100 feet above ground level.

Finally, the temperature-dew point spread definitely indicates fog. Fog is probable when the temperature-dew point spread is 10°C (50°F) or less and decreasing. Fog usually forms when the dew point and the temperature are within a few degrees of each other, and will start to lift when the temperature-dew point spread begins to increase.

Finally, the surface pressure is reported at 30.00 inches of Mercury (A3000).

I'm listening to Austin Departure and they are reporting that the RVR is currently 6000 feet, so it sounds like conditions are improving - likely that temperature-dew point spread is helping out.

Lots of Abbreviations But Only One Format

2008-10-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

In 1996, with the beginning of airline deregulation, the U.S. started using a new format to disseminate current weather and forecasts. Prior to that time the U.S. (and Canada and Mexico) used Surface Aviation Observations (SAO) for current conditions and Terminal Forecasts (TF), while the rest of the world used METARS and TAFS. METAR is an abbrevaition of the French phrase "message d’observation météorologique régulière pour l’aviation", literally "aviation weather observation". A typical METAR includes the date and time the report was sent (in UTC), the winds, could cover and height above ground, temperature and dew point, and barometric pressure. For example, the METAR for this hour for Pontiac, Michigan is:

KPTK 202349Z 29008KT 3SM -RA BR OVC008 11/09 A3008

The four-letter identifer is an ICAO-format desginator for Oakland-Pontiac Airport. 202349Z is interpreted as the 20th day of the current month at 2349 Zulu (Zulu is slang for UTC 'Universal Time Coordinated' or GMT 'Greenwich Mean Time'). The wind direction is presented followdd by the wind speed; here's it's reported as coming from 290 degrees at 8 knots. The next token is the visibility - here's it's 3 statute miles. RA means rain, but the minus in front mean light rain (and +RA means heavy rain). BR is a token for "mist". The cloud cover is overcast (OVC) at 800 feet above ground level (AGL). The temerature is 11 degrees Celsius, and the dewpoint is 9 degrees Celsius - not much of a spread and perhaps indicative of potential icing conditions. The final token "A3008" is interprested as "Altimieter 30.08 inches of Mercury - the surface pressure reading.

As you can see, reading METARS requires a good understanding of the conventions used to report surface conditions using the METAR format. This format, used all over the world now with only minor changes, as spelled out by exceptions for only a handful of airports, makes it easier for pilots to read the current weather at almost any station in the world.

European METARS

2008-10-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

This week I'm exploring European METARS. Generally they are very similar to North American weather reports, but have metric celings, sometimes metric winds, and some different weather codes. Stay tuned.

Hannah

2008-09-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

I just read the Hannah post by dave over at Flight Level 390 and I have to say it was a lot of fun. FF's LIFR and IFR flight assignments are tailored for the bad weather enthusiast, and I'll share mine and others experiences in the wet and bumpy. In the meantime check it out: "The co-pilot tears off the latest weather from the mini-printer and reads it: Winds 130 degrees at 25 gusting 35 kts. Heavy rain. Ceiling 800 overcast. Visibility 1 mile. Altimeter 29.65 and falling."

Hannah

Auto Refresh Implemented

2008-09-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Assignment pages now have a built-in auto-refresh capability. This way if you are interested in say, only IFR flights, then you can load the page one time and let it idle in a separate tab. As the flight assignments change the page will refresh periodically with the updated information. Mobile pages do not have this capability (who keeps their iPhone plugged in all the time?)

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

Currently, Hurricane Ike is the big story along the Northern Gulf of Mexico, so this weekend FourFlights will focus on flight assignments in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

The latest data for the Houston terminal area is winds from 050 at 19 gutsing to 26 knots, visibility 10 miles, overcast at 4000 - I bet Hobby Airport is making good use of Runway 4!

Rules of Dispatch

2008-09-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

One of the first rules that FF Dispatchers learn is to select departure airports that are within what we call dynamic weather range (DWR) of the destination airport. The DWR is typically a distance that equates to an estimated time enroute (ETE) of about one hour. The idea behind a dynamic weather range is to dispatch a flight that will terminate with an approach into the selected weather conditions. For example, if you select a VFR flight then you'd like conditions to be VFR as you enter the terminal area.

The rule of thumb used to calculate estimated time enroute is to multiply the straight-line distance (in nautical miles) times 0.15 and add 30 minutes. For example, a flight from Orlando (KMCO) to Miami (KMIA) is 167 NM. The ETE is 167 * 0.15 + 30 minutes which is about 55 minutes. The nice thing about this formula is that it accounts for ground operations. This works out pretty well for commercial jets and probably turboprops on shorter flights (but probably not as well for piston aircraft like a Cessna 152).

Flight assignments will almost always originate with weather conditions as good or better than at the destination. What this means is that a VFR flight will almost always start VFR, but an IFR flight could start out with VFR, MVFR, or IFR weather conditions, but never LIFR, at the time of dispatch. Additionally, IFR and LIFR flights with arrival conditions that include rain, snow, and/or thunderstorms have higher priority - this makes for a more challenging flight, don't you think?

At this hour there are 28 stations reporting IFR in the universe of Part 139 airports in the continental United States, but only 8 are reporting rain. The one that was selected was Newport News with winds from 040 at 5 knots, and visibility 1.5 miles in light rain and mist. If you're looking for rain you came to the right place!