2003-09 · NASA ASRS report 594722
A BE36 HUSBAND AND WIFE TEAM ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE DECISIONS PLTS ARE MAKING TO FLY AT WVI DURING INCLEMENT CONDITIONS.
MY HUSBAND AND I MADE THE LOC RWY 2 APCH INTO WVI (WATSONVILLE) IN OUR BE36. MY HUSBAND WAS AT THE CTLS AND HE HOLDS A COMMERCIAL MULTI-ENG; INST LICENSE. I HAVE A PVT; SINGLE ENG INST LICENSE. ACCORDING TO ASOS; CONDITIONS WERE 700-900 FT OVCST AND 8 MI VISIBILITY. THE APCH MINIMUMS AT THAT ARPT ARE 680 FT MSL WITH AN ARPT ELEVATION OF 160 FT. WE WERE AT MINIMUMS AND HAD SECONDS TO GO (1 MI FROM MISSED APCH POINT) WHEN WE FINALLY SIGHTED THE RWY AND DSNDED. WE HAD BEEN EITHER SKIMMING THE BOTTOM OR GOING IN AND OUT OF CLOUDS. WE WERE LISTENING TO BOTH CTAF ON 122.80 AND APCH CTL (NORCAL TRACON). WE CLRED THE RWY AND CANCELLED IFR; ONLY TO HEAR A CESSNA; ACFT Y; ANNOUNCE ON CTAF HE WAS TAKING A TURN AROUND THE PATTERN FOR RWY 20. MY HUSBAND CALLED AND ADVISED AGAINST THIS AS THE CEILING WAS BARELY 700 FT. THE PLT RESPONDED THAT HE KNEW THAT; HE HAD JUST COME IN ON THE LOC AHEAD OF US. A SECOND PLANE RECEIVED AN INST RELEASE; BUT A 3RD; ACFT Z; FOLLOWED THE CESSNA UP INTO THE PATTERN! WVI IS CLASS G AIRSPACE FROM GND TO 700 FT AGL; BUT BY MY CALCULATIONS; THERE IS ONLY ABOUT 40 FT OF LEGAL AIRSPACE TO FLY A PATTERN IN; AND ON THIS DAY; IT WAS TRULY DOUBTFUL THAT THEY COULD HAVE REMAINED CLR OF CLOUDS. THEY WERE STILL FLYING PATTERNS ON RWY 20 WHEN WE RETURNED TO THE ARPT 2 HRS LATER. BY THIS TIME THE ASOS WAS RPTING 1000 FT OVCST AND 10 MI; WHICH IS TECHNICALLY VFR; BUT THEY WERE ALSO STILL DOING IT ON RWY 20. AS I WAS RECEIVING MY RELEASE; A SENECA CAME IN AND FIRMLY ANNOUNCED THAT HE HOPED HE HADN'T CUT ANYONE OFF; AS HE HADN'T ANTICIPATED PEOPLE FLYING PATTERNS IN IMC. AS I DEPARTED; I HIT CLOUDS AT 890 FT; WITH A CURRENT ALTIMETER SETTING. FROM WHAT I SAID ABOVE; I WILL NOT STATE THAT ANY LAWS WERE BROKEN. BUT THE SIT WAS FAR FROM SAFE. I TRULY WOULD NOT WANT TO HAVE BROKEN OUT OF THE CLOUDS; JUST AT THE MISSED APCH POINT; ONLY TO FIND A PLANE HEADED STRAIGHT TOWARDS ME; AND POSSIBLY NO WAY OF HIM SEEING ME; AND ANY EVASIVE ACTION PUTTING ME IN DANGER. WATSONVILLE'S NOISE ABATEMENT PROC FURTHER EXACERBATES THIS SIT BY STATING THAT RWY 20 IS TO BE USED ON CALM DAYS; WHILE THE ONLY INST PROCS ARE TO RWY 2. I DON'T THINK A CIRCLE TO LAND WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WHEN WE CAME IN. EITHER THE NOISE ABATEMENT PROCS NEED TO BE ALTERED IF IMC EXISTS; OR PREFERABLY; CLASS E NEEDS TO EXTEND TO THE SURFACE FOR THIS ARPT.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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