1994-08 · NASA ASRS report 279976
ATX EMS SVC PROCEEDS TO DEST ARPT WITHOUT BENEFIT OF APPROVED WX RPTING SVC.
AIR AMBULANCE TRANSPORT OF CRITICAL CASE PATIENT FROM FT WORTH; TX; TO WATSONVILLE UNDER FAR 135. WATSONVILLE ASOS WAS NOT RPTING BUT WAS NOT NOTAM OTS. SALINAS AND MONTEREY WERE VFR AND FORECAST TO STAY THAT WAY. ON OUR PENETRATION WE DISCOVERED NO ASOS RPT TO BE HAD. WE CALLED UNICOM AND WERE TOLD THE ARPT WAS VFR MONTEREY AND SALINAS HAD GONE IFR WITH FOG. MONTEREY APCH CTL TOLD US THAT ACFT WERE GETTING INTO WATSONVILLE USING THE LOC TO RWY 2 AND THAT PLT RPTS INDICATED THE ARPT AT WATSONVILLE WAS VFR. THE APCH AND LNDG WERE UNEVENTFUL. SAFETY WAS NEVER AN ISSUE. THE QUESTION WAS WHETHER OR NOT WE HAD MADE AN INST APCH TO A FIELD WITHOUT APPROVED WX RPTING. IT DEPENDS ON WHO IS DEFINING THE TERMS. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 279979: WHEN CHKING THE WX AT WVI WE FOUND THAT THE ASOS SYS WAS INOP. SAFETY WAS NOT AN ISSUE AND THE LNDG WAS UNEVENTFUL. FOR US TO ARRANGE FOR AN AMBULANCE AT SALINAS; CA; WOULD HAVE PUT THE PATIENT IN AN UNNECESSARY AND STRESSFUL POS. FOR THE PATIENT'S WELL BEING WE DECIDED TO SHOOT THE APCH. THE OTHER PLT AND MYSELF FEEL THAT SPECIAL AUTHORIZATION FOR MEDIVAC SHOULD BE GIVEN IN SITS LIKE THIS.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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