A C172 ATP PLT ENTERS A CLASS D CTL ZONE WITH LESS THAN 3 MI VISIBILITY AND NO RADIOS WITH WHICH TO CALL ZOB CTLR FOR CLRNC NEAR DUJ; PA.
Synopsis
A C172 ATP PLT ENTERS A CLASS D CTL ZONE WITH LESS THAN 3 MI VISIBILITY AND NO RADIOS WITH WHICH TO CALL ZOB CTLR FOR CLRNC NEAR DUJ; PA.
Narrative
I WAS REPOSITIONING A SINGLE ENG ACFT TO A DEST THAT WAS ABOUT 85 NM AWAY; STRAIGHT-LINE DISTANCE. HOWEVER; THE ACFT DID NOT HAVE ANY NAV OR COM RADIOS. THEREFORE; IT WAS NECESSARY TO FLY A COURSE THAT AVOIDED SEVERAL CTLED ARPTS AND DO THIS BY PILOTAGE. THIS MADE THE COURSE SOMEWHAT LONGER; ABOUT 115 NM. ALL ARPTS THAT HAD WX RPTS; AND THERE WERE SEVERAL INCLUDING MY DEST; WERE RPTING VFR. ALL FORECASTS FOR THESE ARPTS; INCLUDING MY DEST; CALLED FOR VFR CONDITIONS DURING MY FLT AND FOR SEVERAL HRS AFTER MY ESTIMATED TIME OF ARR; WHICH WAS XA50. THE ONLY WX THAT POSED A PROB WAS AN AREA OF RAIN SHOWERS THAT COVERED AN AREA THAT I HAD TO FLY THROUGH IN ORDER TO AVOID THE CTLED ARPTS. THIS WAS AT ABOUT THE 1/2 WAYPOINT OF MY FLT. AS IT TURNED OUT; THIS AREA OF RAIN SHOWERS HAD CEILINGS THAT WERE 800-1000 FT; BUT THE VISIBILITY WAS VERY GOOD. HOWEVER; AS I LEFT THE AREA OF RAIN SHOWERS; THE CEILINGS IMPROVED SOME BUT THE VISIBILITY STARTED TO DECREASE TO ABOUT 6 MI. THIS WAS IN LINE WITH THE FORECASTS FOR MY DEST BUT LOWER THAN THE RPTS I HAD RECEIVED ABOUT 1 HR BEFORE. AS I NEARED MY DEST (ABOUT 20 MI OUT); THE VISIBILITY DROPPED FURTHER. I AS CONCERNED THAT THE VISIBILITY WOULD DECREASE TO LESS THAN 3 MI. (MY DEST HAS A CTL ZONE. I DID NOT HAVE A LOT OF FUEL TO PLAY AROUND WITH; NO ELECTRONIC NAV; AND NO ABILITY TO TALK TO ANYONE. THEREFORE; I DETERMINED THAT THE BEST ACTION WOULD BE TO CONTINUE TO MY DEST; WHICH WAS THE CLOSEST ARPT AND AN AREA THAT WAS VERY FAMILIAR TO ME. I BELIEVE THAT I MAINTAINED AT LEAST 3 MI VISIBILITY. HOWEVER; SHORTLY AFTER I LANDED AT XA55; I WENT TO THE PLT LOUNGE AND CHKED THE AUTOMATIC WX. IT WAS RPTING A SPECIAL OBSERVATION OF 2 1/2 MI VISIBILITY. HOWEVER; THE CONDITIONS SEEMED TO BE IMPROVING. IN A FEW MINS; I CHKED THE WX AGAIN AND AT XB08 THERE WAS A SPECIAL OBSERVATION THAT RPTED 3 MI VISIBILITY. THE FORECASTS STILL SHOWED CONDITIONS TO BE VFR WITH VISIBILITIES TO BE BETTER THAN 6 MI. I APPRECIATE THAT WX CAN SOMETIMES DEFY THE BEST EFFORTS AT FORECASTING. BASED UPON OBSERVATIONS AND FORECASTS; IT WAS SAFE FOR ME TO START THE FLT. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT I COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY WHEN CONFRONTED BY THE CONDITIONS SO FAR INTO MY FLT. CONSIDERING THAT I DID NOT HAVE ANY RADIO CAPABILITY AND FUEL WAS NOT A LUXURY; THE BEST ACTION WAS TO GET THE AIRPLANE ON THE GND ASAP. I WOULD NOT HAVE ATTEMPTED THIS FLT AT NIGHT NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE FORECASTS. LIKEWISE; IF THE METARS AND TAF'S HAD NOT BEEN AS GOOD AS THEY WERE; I WOULD NOT HAVE ATTEMPTED THE FLT. THE ONE POOR CONDITION THAT I WAS AWARE OF BEFORE I STARTED THE FLT; THE AREA OF RAIN SHOWERS ABOUT MIDWAY IN MY COURSE; DID NOT GIVE ME ANY PROBS.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.