Descending through 12,000 and you gotta go

PropDriver

PropDriver

Well-Known Member
Here's the scenario: You're the first airplane among many on the arrival during the 6PM arrival bank. The hub airport you're flying into has a very hard time handling all the traffic and always has speed restrictions. Today you're told to fly as fast as possible.

You're descending through 12,000 about 50 miles from the airport when the burrito you ate for lunch tells your body "it's time". You do have a lav and FA onboard so you can leave the cockpit.

It will be 30 minutes until you arrive at the gate and the pax deboard. If you ask for a delay vector, it usually takes 20-30 minutes of holding until center can make a big enough gap to fit you in.

What do you do and why?

Edit: Clear day, no alternate filed, and approaching min fuel
 
Is this an urgent situation worthy of my 91.3 PIC authority if necessary or can I hold it with just some discomfort and hand off the flying to the other guy?

-mini
 
Wait.
Is this an RJ where you'd be doing the walk of shame all the way from the back? I mean if it's one with a lav at the front, you could at least avoid eye contact and dart in there, have the FO make a brief and vague announcement while you're in there, and then dart back up. If not, I guess your only consolation is that you don't really have to look people in the eye while walking the whole way back up to the flight deck.

I guess you have to weigh the pain and pride issues. If pride is big, you could wait and save the passengers some time, but you know that this is the one time in the last month the gate agent can't work the jet bridge, the bathroom is halfway down the concourse, and the sit stalls are all taken. Murphy sucks.
 
20-30 min is a long time, on a clear day the other pilot should be able to handle things just fine. Long story short, I'll see ya in 5-10
 
Go!

I made the mistake of not going 30 miles out from landing, then ended up going missed approach because an (unnamed airline) pulled onto the runway at FLL.

"I'm going back now or I'm crapping my pants. You have no choice."
 
I figure once you are getting the "meat sweats" the decision is already made for you.
 
minitour said:
Who's Armando?

-mini
Click to expand...
It's a mexican food place (note the absence of restaurant) similar to Alberto's (referenced here) in Phoenix. Small, local chain-type deal. Just like Doug said in the linked post, it's more of a 3AM post-drinking excursion than a lunch run and for a reason.

jonnydwolf said:
http://www.us.depend.com/
Click to expand...
I was going to go down that route, but thought that was still more a NASA thing...
0_61_030807_astronaut.jpg
 
Another option would be to land and then tell ground you need to pull off somewhere before continuing to the gate. "The captain is in a state of discomfort.." :laff:
 
Doug Taylor said:
Go!

I made the mistake of not going 30 miles out from landing, then ended up going missed approach because an (unnamed airline) pulled onto the runway at FLL.

"I'm going back now or I'm crapping my pants. You have no choice."
Click to expand...

Whoa, you were at the pointy end of the touch and go deal a coupla years back? The really publicized near miss with the UNnamed aIrline when ThE crew Didn't pay attention and wandered across rwy 9?
 
I'd say it's time to punch out.

Based on past experience, the amount of delay you can expect is directly proportional to the amount of pressure on the rear outflow valve.
 
I (well, my captain) had an almost identical situation right off IOE. Anticipated holding at the the IAF of a mountainous airport's ILS, weather below mins and not getting any better. The captain had to go (didn't ask which form), but it was a tough decision either way...if the weather came up for 10 minutes, we were in...if not, we were diverting and wouldn't be on the ground for 40 minutes. Could have been really bad either way. Tuned out to be an epically good call, as the weather stayed down and we held and diverted with the captain in total comfort.
 
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