PA34 PILOT REPORTS GETTING WELL BELOW GS DURING AN ILS APPROACH IN VISUAL CONDITIONS.
Synopsis
PA34 PILOT REPORTS GETTING WELL BELOW GS DURING AN ILS APPROACH IN VISUAL CONDITIONS.
Narrative
CONDITIONS WERE VFR UPON ARR AND I EXPECTED A VISUAL APCH TO THE RWY. I WAS CLRED TO INTERCEPT THE LOC FOR RWY 20 THEN CLRED FOR THE ILS APCH. I HAD THE RWY IN SIGHT APPROX 7 MI OUT ON FINAL. I WAS DSNDING TO INITIAL APCH ALT WHEN I INTERCEPTED THE LOC. NOTICED I WAS ON GS. I INITIATED A DSCNT ON THE GS WHILE MAINTAINING VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE RWY. JUST OUTSIDE OF THE FAF; THE CTLR ADVISED I INDICATED LOW ON THE APCH. I CHKED MY INSTS AND SHOWED ON GS AND ON LOC. I MAINTAINED VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE RWY AND ANALYZED THE PROB. THE GS WAS ERRATIC WITH THE FLAG MOVING IN AND OUT OF VIEW. I EXPECTED THE FLAG TO BE FULLY PULLED AS I WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE OM. I QUESTIONED THE TWR IF THERE HAD BEEN ANY RPTS OF GS PROBS. THEY INDICATED THEY HAD JUST SWITCHED THE APCH AND I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO USE IT THAT DAY LNDG ON RWY 20. I LEVELED THE ACFT. APCH RPTED I WAS STILL BELOW NORMAL GS ALT. I PROCEEDED TO FLY VISUALLY TO THE ARPT AND COMPLETED A NORMAL LNDG. AFTER REVIEW OF THE SIT I THINK THERE WERE SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES TO CORRECT OR AVOID THIS PROB. THEY ARE AS FOLLOWS: I SHOULD HAVE PREPARED FOR A COMPLETE APCH EVEN THOUGH THE ARPT WAS VISUAL AND THE RWY WAS IN SIGHT. THIS LURED ME INTO A COMPLACENCY THAT MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO NOT REVIEWING THE CHARTS AS COMPLETELY AS I SHOULD HAVE. I SHOULD NOT HAVE DSNDED BELOW THE INITIAL APCH ALT UNTIL CONFIRMING I HAD PASSED THE OM AND THE ALT HAD CHKED AT THE FAF; IRREGARDLESS OF THE GS INDICATION. THE VISUAL CONDITIONS WITH THE RWY IN SIGHT MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS. THE ACFT HAD BEEN DOWN FOR MAINT AND I HAD NOT FLOWN IT FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. WHILE I WAS PROFICIENT WITH TKOF AND LNDGS I HAD NOT MADE AN ILS APCH IN THIS ACFT IN A WHILE. THERE IS NOT ONE AT MY HOME AIRFIELD. I FLY EFIS/FMS ACFT PROFESSIONALLY AND FIND MY INST SCAN NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS IT USED TO BE. EFIS/FMS USES MORE OF AN INFO SCAN WHERE CONVENTIONAL ACFT REQUIRE A DISCIPLINED INST SCAN. IT IS POSSIBLE I DID NOT SEE A GS FLAG THAT APPEARED INTERMITTENTLY WHEN ATC BROUGHT THE LOW ALT TO MY ATTN. THE FLAG MOVED IN AND OUT OF VIEW. IF I LOCKED ON THE GS WITH A WEAK SIGNAL; THE GS NULLS TO THE CTRED POS MAKING IT LOOK LIKE YOU ARE ON GS. I WILL NEVER ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN. I HAVE BEEN FLYING FOR 35 YRS AND HAVE NEVER HAD AN INCIDENT OR VIOLATION OF ANY KIND. I OPERATE WITH VERY DISCIPLINED COMPANY SOPS. I NEEDED TO REMIND MYSELF TO OPERATE WITH THE SAME DISCIPLINES WHEN OPERATING GA ACFT. THE VISUAL CONDITIONS CREATED SOME COMPLACENCY AND I JUST ASSUMED A STRAIGHT IN APCH TO THE RWY WOULD BE ALL THAT WAS REQUIRED. HAD THERE BEEN A LOW WX APCH I AM SURE I WOULD HAVE DOUBLE-CHKED EVERYTHING IN PREPARATION FOR THE APCH. I NEED TO DO THIS EVERY TIME REGARDLESS OF WX CONDITIONS. I RECOGNIZE THAT HAD THIS BEEN IN LOW VISIBILITY CONDITIONS AND HAD THE TWR NOT NOTIFIED ME OF MY ALT; THERE COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUS SAFETY RAMIFICATIONS. THIS WAS A WAKE UP CALL TO TREAT RECREATIONAL GA FLYING WITH THE SAME DEGREE OF INTENSITY AS PROFESSIONAL FLYING. A BAD DECISION CAN BE JUST AS DEADLY. THE ACFT WAS NEVER IN A DANGEROUS POS AND WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OUT OF BOUNDS FOR A VISUAL APCH WITHOUT THE ILS EQUIP. I DID LEARN A VALUABLE LESSON AND WILL NOT REPEAT THIS TYPE OF ERROR.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.