Jose wrote:



So to re-pose the question - if the observation is in fact made by an
officialy certified observer, is it sufficient =then= that the pilot
relays it to ATC, or does the report have to go through some official
channels to be usable for a contact approach clearance? I'm not (of
course) asking what pilots and controllers would actually =do= under the
circumstances, but rather, what the FAA would throw at the pilot or
controller should there be an accident (and it could be proven that the
observation was correct, made by a certfied observer, but not delivered
to ATC except via the pilot).



Is there any official weather that is not available at all to ATC?