Alchemy
Well-Known Member
You're going from a southern mega hub to a tertiary southern US airport on a 350 mile, 1 hour flight.
There are low celings and poor visibility up and down the gulf coast, along which both airports lie. This is the last flight of the night to your destination, and it's 90% filled disgruntled christmas-time travelers. It's about 6:30 PM, you've been working since 7:00 AM.
Mega hub weather is 1/4 mile, mist, ovc 100, sfc vis 1, light winds. You have a takeoff alternate about 150 miles west, where weather is better than 5 miles and 5000 ft.
Destination airport METARs for the past two hours:
14003KT 1/4SM FG VV001 19/18 A3014 RMK AO2 SLP206 T01940178 10211 20194 51004 RVRNO
13003KT 1/4SM FG VV001 19/18 A3015 RMK AO2 SLP209 T01940183 RVRNO
The destination TAF calls for weather to improve to 1/2 SM and 200 OVC 1 hour prior to your ETA and reamain the same for 3 hours after your ETA. You have a CAT I ILS, a few non precision approaches and no CAT II. Mins for the CAT 1 are right at the TAF forecast, 1/2 SM.
Your alternate is about 250 NM beyond your destination, TAF calls or 10 miles, sct 800, bkn 5000 at your ETA there, deterioriating to 500 ovc about 1 hour later. The alternate has a CAT I and several non precision approaches. Your company has no operations at this airport, but it is served by several other airlines.
With your payload, you have enough free weight to add an additional 30 minutes of fuel. If you elected to take the additional fuel, this would put you in range of another southern mega hub should you need to go there. Your airline has operations there.
Dispatch wants you to go because the TAF is controlling and it says you will have minimums at your ETA. Your FO wants to cancel the flight. He has called the tower at your destination and they stated that no one has been able to land in the past 3 hours. The Gate agent is coming down the jetway and wants to know if you're ready to board.
You're the captain, what do you do?
There are low celings and poor visibility up and down the gulf coast, along which both airports lie. This is the last flight of the night to your destination, and it's 90% filled disgruntled christmas-time travelers. It's about 6:30 PM, you've been working since 7:00 AM.
Mega hub weather is 1/4 mile, mist, ovc 100, sfc vis 1, light winds. You have a takeoff alternate about 150 miles west, where weather is better than 5 miles and 5000 ft.
Destination airport METARs for the past two hours:
14003KT 1/4SM FG VV001 19/18 A3014 RMK AO2 SLP206 T01940178 10211 20194 51004 RVRNO
13003KT 1/4SM FG VV001 19/18 A3015 RMK AO2 SLP209 T01940183 RVRNO
The destination TAF calls for weather to improve to 1/2 SM and 200 OVC 1 hour prior to your ETA and reamain the same for 3 hours after your ETA. You have a CAT I ILS, a few non precision approaches and no CAT II. Mins for the CAT 1 are right at the TAF forecast, 1/2 SM.
Your alternate is about 250 NM beyond your destination, TAF calls or 10 miles, sct 800, bkn 5000 at your ETA there, deterioriating to 500 ovc about 1 hour later. The alternate has a CAT I and several non precision approaches. Your company has no operations at this airport, but it is served by several other airlines.
With your payload, you have enough free weight to add an additional 30 minutes of fuel. If you elected to take the additional fuel, this would put you in range of another southern mega hub should you need to go there. Your airline has operations there.
Dispatch wants you to go because the TAF is controlling and it says you will have minimums at your ETA. Your FO wants to cancel the flight. He has called the tower at your destination and they stated that no one has been able to land in the past 3 hours. The Gate agent is coming down the jetway and wants to know if you're ready to board.
You're the captain, what do you do?