SMA PLT DSNDS BELOW MINS FOR THE ILS CIRCLE TO LAND APCH.
Synopsis
SMA PLT DSNDS BELOW MINS FOR THE ILS CIRCLE TO LAND APCH.
Narrative
ATIS AT MYF WAS 300 FT OVCST; VISIBILITY 1-3 MI IN FOG; WINDS 120 DEGS 9 KTS. I CALLED ZLA ABOUT 80 NM FROM MYF AND REQUESTED IFR CLRNC. I HAVE FLOWN ILS RWY 28R APCH OVER 100 TIMES; INCLUDING 10-15 TIMES WITH CEILING LESS THAN 500 FT. UNFORTUNATELY; THE UNUSUAL EASTERLY WIND RESULTED IN A CIRCLE-TO-LAND CLRNC TO RWY 10. THIS INFO DID NOT REGISTER CORRECTLY IN MY BRAIN SO I PROCEEDED ON THE APCH. I FLEW IN THE CLOUDS FOR 20 MIN FROM 7500 FT RIGHT DOWN THE ILS TO THE GND. I BROKE OUT AT 300-400 FT AGL RIGHT OVER THE APCH LIGHTS. THE TWR INSTRUCTED ME TO MAKE A CIRCLING APCH TO RWY 10L. IN RETROSPECT; THE MINIMUM DSCNT ALT FOR THE APCH IS 457 FT. I WAS UNABLE TO MAKE A NORMAL APCH AND DSCNT TO LNDG SO I DECLARED A MISSED APCH AFTER 2 ATTEMPTS TO CIRCLE THE ARPT. AFTER I CLBED THROUGH THE OVCST AND TO VFR ON-TOP; I PROCEEDED TO MY ALTERNATE ARPT; BORREGO SPRINGS. WHILE ENRTE; THE SOCAL DEP CTLR ASKED ME FOR MY NAME WHICH I GAVE HIM. HE DID NOT INFORM ME THAT I DID ANYTHING INAPPROPRIATE; BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT I DID MAKE AT LEAST 2 ERRORS THAT DAY. FIRST; I FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THAT I WAS CLRED FOR THE ILS RWY 28R; CIRCLE-TO-LAND RWY 10R/L APCH WHICH HAS A HIGHER MINIMUM DSCNT ALT THAN THE STRAIGHT IN ILS RWY 28R APCH. SECOND; I MADE AN ERROR IN JUDGEMENT BY ATTEMPTING THE CIRCLE-TO-LAND WHEN I COULD NOT MAKE A 'NORMAL APCH AND DSCNT TO LNDG.' AT XA:00 THAT DAY; I SUCCESSFULLY MADE A STRAIGHT IN ILS RWY 28R APCH WITH A 500 FT OVCST CEILING.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.