1988-07 · NASA ASRS report 91345
GA SMA VFR IN IMC. NO FLT PLAN FILED AND PLT REPORTER NOT INSTRUMENT RATED BY FAA.
I WOULD LIKE TO RPT A FLT WHICH I FEEL CONSTITUTED AN UNSAFE EXPERIENCE. IN 7/88 I CALLED FSS AT APPROX XA00 AM. I PLANNED A FLT TO AWM. I WAS TOLD CONDITIONS WERE MARGINAL BUT BY XD00 AM; FORECAST TO BE VFR. I CALLED AGAIN AT APPROX XB00 AM. I WAS TOLD IT WOULD BE VFR AT AWM AFTER XD00 AM. I PLANNED MY FLT ACCORDINGLY. I TOOK OFF FROM PLAQUENINE; LA; AT APPROX XB45 AM. MY PLANNED FLT WOULD HAVE AN ETE OF 2 HRS AND ETA AT ABOUT XD30 AM WELL AFTER AWM WAS TO BE VFR. MY INTENDED ENRTE ALT WAS TO BE 5500'. TO MAINTAIN FORWARD VFR VIS; I CLBED ABOVE A HEAVY HAZE CONDITION. WHEN THE HAZE WENT TO OVCST I DID A 180 DEG TURN AND IT WAS IMMEDIATELY APPARENT A LINE OF TSTMS MADE A RETURN IMPOSSIBLE. THE ONLY SAFE ALTERNATE WAS TO RETURN TO MY ORIGINAL HDG FOR AWM AND STAY ABOVE THE HAZE. I WAS AT 9500' MSL WHEN 30-40 S OF AWM; WHEN I CONTACTED ZME AND ADVISED OF MY INTENT TO DSND AND WAS GRANTED PERMISSION. AFTER STARTING DSCNT I WAS HANDED OFF TO MEM APCH AND WAS VECTORED TO AWM. THERE WERE SEVERAL LAYERS OF VFR AND WHILE BEING VECTORED I WAS VECTORED PAST SEVERAL VFR AREAS. I ASSUMED THAT ONCE I WAS BEING VECTORED BY APCH; IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ILLEGAL TO GO VFR; SO I CONTINUED THE FLT AS INSTRUCTED BY MEM APCH. THIS CAUSED ME TO MAKE AN APCH TO AWM AS DIRECTED BY APCH CTL. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING: THE RPTR HAD BEEN AN INSTRUMENT RATED PLT IN THE NAVY AND THEN DID NOT FLY FOR SEVERAL YRS. SINCE BECOMING CURRENT HE HAS NOT BOTHERED TO GET AN INSTRUMENT RATING. DURING FLC ATC REVIEW THE MEM APCH CTLR TOLD HIM HE WOULD HAVE TO RPT THE INCIDENT BECAUSE THE PLT HAD NOT FILED A FLT PLAN BEFORE BECOMING IFR.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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