O. Sami Saydjari wrote:

Let's say your 15 miles from your home airport in VMC, not on a flight
plan. You know the area well. On your way, unforecast conditions
(snow) causes visibility to start dropping below 3 miles. Ceilings are
at 1800. You are just below the ceiling. You know the area well enough
to do a contact approach safely, even though the MSA for the area is
3000 ft MSL (2000 ft AGL).

Seems like the right thing to do in such a situation is to call ATC,
tell them your situation (although I am not sure precisely what one
would say), and ask for an on-the-fly IFR contact approach clearance.
It seems like seeking a full IFR approach causes one to go up into the
clouds and risk icing, and so would be a less safe alternative.
Opinions?

A few thoughts:

First, what is the MEA or probably more accurate, the controller's MVA
(minimum vectoring altitude) for the area in which you were flying when
visibility dropped? Perhaps you could have requested a pop-up IFR
clearance that kept you below the clouds.

Another option is to request "special VFR." That will keep you VFR but
legally allow you to enter the airport's airspace and land with 1 mile
visibility and clear of clouds.

Of course, there are several class B airports that do not allow special
VFR and requesting it at an airport that does allow it doesn't
necessarily guarantee you will receive it, which leads to the third
option: Do a 180 and find a nearby airport outside the lower
visibility.

--
Peter







----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups
---= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via Encryption =---