BGM TRACON CTLR CONCERNED WITH ARPT ASOS WX RPTING SVC WHEN A VFR PA28 PLT INCURS ENRTE WX.
Synopsis
BGM TRACON CTLR CONCERNED WITH ARPT ASOS WX RPTING SVC WHEN A VFR PA28 PLT INCURS ENRTE WX.
Narrative
ACFT ON VFR. FIRST WORKED ACFT NEAR DNY VOR ENRTE SWBOUND. ACFT ENCOUNTERED IFR CONDITIONS ON VFR FLT PLAN AND ENDED UP BTWN LAYERS. PLT REQUESTED WX AT OTHER ARPTS AND MADE DECISION TO CONTINUE BASED ON INFO PASSED. ABOUT 45 MINS LATER; ACFT RETURNED TO BGM; STILL CAUGHT BTWN LAYERS VFR. PIREP BASES 4000 FT (2400 FT AGL). ASOS RPTED BGM WX AS: XA00. 140 DEGS AT 10 KTS GUSTING TO 8 KTS. FEW 30; 18/11 ALTIMETER 30.03 (LOOKS LIKE A 'NICE' DAY). THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY EXTREMELY INACCURATE SINCE NO SKY WAS VISIBLE AT THAT TIME; NOR FOR 2 HRS PRIOR; NOR BTWN TIME OF OBSERVATION AND WHEN ACFT LANDED AT XA00. HAD OTHER INFO PLT RECEIVED BEEN ACCURATE; ACFT WOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO RETURN TO BGM; HENCE THIS INACCURACY WAS PREVALENT RATHER THAN AN ANOMALY. FORECASTS AND PLT BRIEFINGS ARE BASED ON THIS INFO AND IT IS THIS WHICH PRECIPITATED THE SIT IN THE FIRST PLACE. WX WILL ALWAYS BE CHANGING AND NEVER BE TOTALLY PREDICTABLE; BUT THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR OBSERVATIONS OF CURRENT CONDITIONS TO BE BLATANTLY AND DANGEROUSLY WRONG. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 511628: I AM A VFR PVT PLT WITH A VFR CHEROKEE PA28. I HAVE NO IFR TRAINING EXCEPT THE 4.1 HRS OF HOOD TIME DURING MY TRAINING. I PREPARED A 2 HR 15 MIN RETURN TRIP TO N79 FROM RUT BY CHKING THE WX COMPUTER AT RUTLAND AND CALLING FSS AT XC30 FOR XC30 DEP. FSS TOLD ME THERE WAS A HIGH IN THE AREA; WIND RUT 360 DEGS AT 3 KTS; CEILING LESS THAN 12000 FT. ALBANY SCATTERED 5000 FT; 140 DEGS AT 9 KTS. WILKES BARRE SCATTERED 2500 FT WITH TOPS OF 5000 FT. THE COMPUTER SHOWED ALL RAIN TO BE S AND W OF MY INTENDED RTE. BASED ON THE FACT THAT THE CLOUDS WERE SCATTERED AND THERE WAS NO RAIN IN THE RTE; THE DECISION WAS MADE TO GO. I DECIDED THAT I WOULD START THE TRIP AT 4500 FT AND STAY BELOW ANY CLOUD COVERAGE UNTIL I GOT TO THE SCATTERED CLOUDS BTWN ALBANY AND WILKES BARRE. AT THIS POINT I WOULD GO ABOVE THE 'SCATTERED' CLOUDS AND CLB TO 6500 FT; KNOWING I COULD GO THROUGH THE SCATTERED CLOUDS AT N79 TO LAND. THE TRIP WAS GOING AS PLANNED UNTIL I GOT 10 MI NW OF DELANCEY VOR. I WAS FLYING BELOW MILD CLOUD COVER AT 4500 FT BUT WAS STILL VOR. THEN THE CLOUDS THICKENED AND I WAS IN A WHITEOUT. KNOWING THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS ALONG THE RTE WERE AT 3800 FT; I WANTED TO BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO DSND. UPON THE ADVICE OF ATC; I MADE THE DECISION TO CLB. AT 5000 FT; I WAS BACK TO VFR. I CLBED TO THE PROPER ALT OF 6500 FT AND CONTINUED. BINGAMTON APCH WAS NOW TREATING THE SIT AS AN EMER AND INFORMED ME OF THE ATIS RPT WHICH RPTED 'FEW CLOUDS AT 3000 FT.' BASED ON THIS; I CONTINUED ON COURSE LOOKING FOR A HOLE TO DSND THROUGH AND LAND. BUT AS I CONTINUED THE CLOUDS AT 6500 FT INTENSIFIED ONCE AGAIN AND BECAME IFR. ATC ADVISED A HDG OF 360 DEGS. I DID SO AND EVENTUALLY FOUND A SMALL HOLE IN THE CLOUDS S OF BINGAMTON REGIONAL ARPT AND LANDED THERE. THROUGH THE HELP OF BINGAMTON APCH AND WILKES BARRE APCH; I GOT OUT OF THIS SIT. MY DECISION TO MAKE THIS TRIP WAS BASED ON WX RPTS OF 'SCATTERED CLOUDS' ON THE WX COMPUTER; THE FSS; AND THE 'FEW CLOUDS' RPT FROM THE ATIS. THE CLOUDS WERE FAR FROM SCATTERED AND FEW. THE DEFINITION OF THESE TERMS WAS MISLEADING. THROUGH THE SMALL AMOUNT OF IFR TRAINING AND READING NUMEROUS SAFETY AND ACCIDENT RPTS; I TRUSTED MY ATTITUDE INDICATOR AND ALTIMETER AND FINALLY GOT OUT OF IFR CONDITIONS. LOOKING BACK; I REALIZE THAT AS SOON AS I GOT INTO THE CLOUDS; I SHOULD HAVE TURNED 180 DEGS INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO THE WX RPTS AND CONTINUING. BUT WX RPTS OF SCATTERED AND FEW CLOUDS LED ME TO BELIEVE I COULD SAFELY MAKE THIS TRIP.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.