SF34 CREW USED THE CAPT EMER AUTH TO LAND AT THE NEAREST SUITABLE ARPT AFTER RUNNING LOW ON FUEL BECAUSE OF 2 WX RELATED DIVERSIONS.
Synopsis
SF34 CREW USED THE CAPT EMER AUTH TO LAND AT THE NEAREST SUITABLE ARPT AFTER RUNNING LOW ON FUEL BECAUSE OF 2 WX RELATED DIVERSIONS.
Narrative
WHILE ENRTE TO PIT; WE LISTENED TO ATIS; WHICH RPTED WX LESS THAN OUR LNDG MINIMUMS. SINCE WE WERE CLOSE TO PIT; WE CALLED THEIR OPS TO RELAY A MESSAGE TO OUR DISPATCH THAT WE NEEDED TO GO TO AN ALTERNATE. THEY RELAYED BACK TO US TO GO TO MORGANTOWN. AS WE FLEW TO MORGANTOWN; CEILINGS AND VISIBILITY REDUCED RAPIDLY; WHICH WAS NOT FORECAST TO DO SO. WE ALSO ENCOUNTERED CONTINUOUS LIGHT; OCCASIONAL MODERATE TURB; AND LIGHT MIXED ICE. BY THE TIME WE WERE VECTORED FOR THE APCH INTO MORGANTOWN AND REACHED THE MISSED APCH POINT; WE HAD NO LIGHTS IN SIGHT. ON THE MISSED; WE TRIED TO CONTACT OUR DISPATCH USING COMRDO AND COMRDO PATCHED US THROUGH AND I COULD HEAR OUR DISPATCH; BUT THEY COULDN'T HEAR ME. I WAS CALLING TO HAVE THEM FIGURE OUT ANOTHER ALTERNATE; AND THE FUEL BURN TO GET THERE. COM WAS IMPOSSIBLE WITH DISPATCH. WHILE ALL THIS WAS GOING ON; WE HEARD RPTS ON FREQ OF MODERATE AND GREATER TURB; AND MODERATE AND GREATER ICING AT ENRTE ALTS. I COULD NOT GO BACK TO CRUISE ALTS WHERE THESE CONDITIONS WERE RPTED; AND I COULD NOT GO BACK TO THE DEP ARPT SAFELY WITHOUT KNOWING THE FUEL BUR. I ASKED APCH IF THERE WAS A SUITABLE ARPT TO LAND AT THAT WAS CLOSE. HE SUGGESTED CLARKSBURG. WE HAVE THOSE APCH PLATES; SO WE AGREED. HE GAVE US VECTORS AND WE LANDED SAFELY. HOWEVER; WE LANDED AT AN ARPT THAT IS NOT IN OUR OPS SPECS. IF COM HAD NOT BROKEN DOWN BTWN US AND DISPATCH THROUGH COMRDO; THIS MAY NOT HAVE HAPPENED.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.