1997-06 · NASA ASRS report 370768
FO RPT OF A MAVERICK CAPT'S HANDLING OF THEIR SA227 DURING A CIRCLING APCH INTO NORTH BEND; OR. THE ACFT WAS DSNDED TO LESS THAN CIRCLING MINIMUM ALT; WITH A BANK ANGLE OF 60 DEGS TO INSURE LNDG.
WE WERE ARRIVING FROM PDX SO OPTED TO TAKE THE VOR DME B APCH FROM THE E. FO FLYING; CAPT MONITORING. APCH WAS PROCEEDING NORMALLY UP TO 'OTH' VOR. MY INTENT WAS TO COMPLETE APCH; CIRCLE AT CAT B MINIMUMS OVER THE ARPT AND MAKE R TFC FOR RWY 13 SINCE WINDS WERE 160 DEGS AT 7 KTS. AFTER REACHING THE VOR; I DSNDED TO 1000 FT MSL. I WAS REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN 1000 FT UNTIL REACHING 2 DME. AT 1 DME; THE CAPT COULD SEE THE GND AND PART OF THE ARPT THROUGH A HOLE IN THE CLOUD. HE SAID 'DSND LOWER; I CAN SEE IT; YOU GOT TO GET LOWER; DSND.' I SAID NOTHING AND MAINTAINED MY ALT UNTIL 2 DME AT WHICH TIME I DSNDED TO MINIMUMS OF 760 FT. AT THIS POINT; WE HAD BROKEN OUT OF THE CLOUDS; AND WERE DIRECTLY OVER THE ARPT. I BRIEFLY LOOKED R (TOWARDS WHERE I WAS GOING TO CIRCLE) AND SAW THE CEILING APPEARED LOWER. I DIDN'T BELIEVE WE COULD MAINTAIN VMC. I LOOKED STRAIGHT AHEAD AND L AND FOUND THE SAME SCENARIO; LOWER AND SPORADIC CEILING BASES. I REMEMBERING SAYING; 'WELL WHAT DO YOU THINK?' CAPT SAID; 'BETTER MAKE A L TURN FOR RWY 31 NOW; DON'T GO IN THAT CLOUD.' MY ALT IS NOW AT MINIMUMS WITH A SLIGHT DSCNT. IT APPEARED OBVIOUS THAT I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN VMC IN ANY DIRECTION WITHOUT DSNDING BELOW MINIMUMS. WE WERE JUST XING OVER THE CTRLINE OF THE RWY AND NOT IN A POS TO LAND. MY NEXT MANEUVER WAS TO BE A MODIFIED MISSED APCH; MODIFIED ONLY BECAUSE I WAS NOW BEYOND THE MISSED APCH POINT. THEN THE CAPT SAID 'MY AIRPLANE' AND SLAMMED THE TRIM SELECTOR TO HIS SIDE; AND BEGAN A 50 DEG L BANKED TURN WHILE DSNDING. I REMEMBER SAYING; 'NO COWBOY SHIT; CAPT.' HE SAID NOTHING. HE THEN YANKED THE AIRPLANE INTO A 60 DEG BANK TURN TO FINAL AND OVERSHOT BECAUSE WE WERE SO CLOSE IN. HE LANDED THE ACFT AND ON ROLLOUT SAID 'SORRY.' I SAID NOTHING UNTIL AT THE GATE. IN MY OPINION THE VIOLATIONS THAT OCCURRED WERE: 1) DSNDING BELOW MINIMUMS WHEN NOT IN A POS TO MAKE NORMAL DSCNT TO LNDG. 2) PERFORMING STEEP TURNS (45 DEGS) AND AEROBATIC MANEUVERS (60 DEG TURNS) IN THE VICINITY OF THE ARPT. PLT OPS SPECS EXPRESSLY PROHIBIT BANK ANGLES BEYOND 30 DEGS. 3) CARELESS AND RECKLESS OPS. I BELIEVE THAT I SHOULD HAVE EXECUTED A MISSED APCH IMMEDIATELY UPON BREAKING OUT AND HAVING REALIZED I PROBABLY COULD NOT MAINTAIN VISUAL AT MINIMUMS. AFTER AS I DISCUSSED THIS WITH CAPT; HE REMARKED THAT I WAS INDECISIVE AND THAT'S WHY HE TOOK THE AIRPLANE. I PAUSED AT MDA JUST BEFORE THE MISSED APCH POINT TO ASK THE CAPT; 'WELL WHAT DO YOU THINK.' I ASKED HIM THAT ONLY TO SOLICIT INPUT AS TO WHETHER HE SAW A VIABLE; LEGAL; AND SAFE RTE TO THE ARPT; YET HE TOOK THIS AS AN INABILITY TO MAKE A PROPER DECISION. ALSO; WE SHOULD HAVE BRIEFED A CAPT MONITORED APCH DUE TO THE CEILING BEING SO CLOSE TO MINIMUMS. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT SHE RPTED THIS EVENT TO THE CHIEF PLT OF THE ACR. THE CHIEF PLT DID NOT SET THIS CAPT UP FOR A LINE CHK OR ANY OTHER 'REMEDIAL' TREATMENT. HE DID WARN THIS CAPT THAT ONE MORE TRANSGRESSION OF THIS NATURE WOULD RESULT IN HIS TERMINATION WITH THE ACR. RPTR SAID THAT THIS CAPT HAD PREVIOUS VIOLATIONS OR UNUSUAL BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS IN THE PAST. THE PROB; AS SHE SAW IT; WAS THAT THIS CAPT DIDN'T EVEN SEEM TO REALIZE HE HAD DONE ANYTHING WRONG. THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COMMITTEE OF THE ACR IS ALSO ON TOP OF THIS ONE.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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