2001-07 · NASA ASRS report 519293
BIZJET FLC DECLARED AN EMER AFTER ARRIVING AT DEST WITH MINIMUM FUEL.
I DECLARED AN EMER. IT WAS MY FIRST IN OVER 40 YRS OF FLYING. WHAT WE ACTUALLY REQUIRED WAS PRIORITY HANDLING BECAUSE OF FUEL CONCERNS. MY FUEL PLANNING WAS ON THE 'LEAN SIDE' BECAUSE OF FUEL PRICE CONSIDERATIONS. THE DEST ARPT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE VFR. ENRTE RECALCULATIONS; WITH GREATER THAN ANTICIPATED HEADWINDS; SUGGESTED THAT RESERVES APPEARED ADEQUATE; ASSUMING NO DELAYS. BASED ON THAT; WE PROCEEDED TO OUR FILED DEST. ON DSCNT; WE WERE SEQUENCED AS '#4 FOR THE BACK COURSE ILS' WITH CEILINGS OF 900 FT BROKEN AND 4 MI VISIBILITY. THIS INDETERMINATE DELAY NO LONGER LEFT A COMFORTABLE FUEL RESERVE IN OUR LIGHT TURBINE PWRED JET. I ASKED FOR PRIORITY HANDLING BECAUSE OF CRITICAL FUEL RESERVES. IT WAS IMPLIED BY TRACON THAT AN EMER WOULD HAVE TO BE DECLARED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE PRIORITY HANDLING. SO; I DECLARED THE EMER. WE WERE CLRED FOR THE APCH AND; WITHOUT INCIDENT; LANDED WITH VFR RESERVES; NO LESS AND NO MORE. THE ABILITY TO OBTAIN PRIORITY HANDLING BEFORE A REAL EMER ENSUED AVOIDED A MUCH LARGER PROB. YET THE DECLARATION OF THE EMER WAS A CONSEQUENCE OF FAULTY PREFLT PLANNING WHICH DID NOT ALLOW FOR GREATER THAN ANTICIPATED HEADWINDS; A NOT YET VFR DEST; AND A FULL COMPLIMENT OF IFR TRAINING ACFT. WHAT I SHOULD HAVE ALLOWED FOR WAS ENOUGH FUEL TO DSND OUT OF ALT; BE SEQUENCES (#4) ON THE APCH AND THEN FLY TO AN ALTERNATE AND LAND THERE WITH 45 MIN RESERVES. DIVERSION TO A VFR ARPT WAS A VALID OPTION THAT I DIDN'T ELECT; IN LIEU OF DECLARING AN EMER. I'M GLAD THAT OUR SYS ALLOWS HELP FOR FOOLISH MISCALCULATIONS.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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