Interview question...

Stone Cold

Stone Cold

Well-Known Member
Okay, here's a supposed interview question I have heard is asked at a regional and I was wondering if it is 1)truly an interview question and 2) what you'd answer and opinions on it:

You are flying along to an airport, the weather goes down at the airport, so you have two airports to choose from. One airport has an ILS and the weather is close to minimums, but there is a line of thunderstorms between you and the airport. The second airport only has a non-precision and is below minimums. Which do you go to and why?

Please feel free to move this thread to a more appropriate forum, if it doesn't fit here.
 
1) No clue.

2) How far away is each airport? Why is there only two airports? Also, could you circumnavigate the Tstorms? How about fuel? And is it possible to get a TAF?

Maybe they wouldn't like my approach to the question, but that's what I would start replying with because I don't like either option as its phrased.
 
Swen said:
2) How far away is each airport? Why is there only two airports? Also, could you circumnavigate the Tstorms? How about fuel? And is it possible to get a TAF?
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Each airport is the same distance. Fuel is equal to get to either airport. What's a TAF going to do for you? You know the wx at each airport. The original destination is just closed period. Which airport do you go to?
 
First is one of the airports the alternate and what is fuel state. The start deciding if you can hold or navigate around storm to airport with ILS
 
In order of preference:
I'd get by the thunderstorms, if there was any safe way.
I'd hold to let the thunderstorms go by the airport then land, or 'till visibility improves.
I'd declare an emergency and land below mins (assuming it's vis restricting and the cloud deck is high enough to make this an option).
I'd go through the least awful part of the thunderstorms and land at the up field.
 
I wouldn't go to the below minimums airport. If the TAF for that airport shows below minimums, you'd be legal to go to it but would need an above mins alternate with fuel for that. If the TAF shows above mins but Metar is below, I'd start to question the TAF. In either case, I'd want an alternate and alternate fuel. The type of approach is less of an issue.

The ILS airport is above mins, metar and TAF. I'd go for that and deal with the thunderstorms as best I could.

The questions sounds like one of those no win/no right answer situations designed to get you to think one way or the other and defend your decision.

In a way, the question is flawed. If you are looking at it as choosing between two alternates because your destination is below mins, you couldn't choose the non-precision airport as an alternate becasuse it's below mins, too. Therefore, there is only one legal choice as an alternate, and that's the ILS airport.
 
Since the question is fairly vague, I will respond the way I think it would go down in real life.

Thunderstorms move fairly quickly so since I am an hour out from the airport, I would continue to my destination with the ILS and by the time I got close, the thunderstorms would have already moved out and I can slide in during the calm after the storm. At worst I would probably do some navigating around the tail end of the line of storms.
 
Not a very good question. Under FAR part 121 you can't begin the approach without meeting required minimums, so the non precision is out on that basis. You DON"T want to go through the line of T-storms either so you need to ask, do I have enough fuel to hold and hope things improve (who knows, still not a good idea, especially if its not your destination) or can you get vectored around the T-storms? At this point I'd probably call company dispatch and get their opinion where they have the "office eye in the sky" and they can get a better picture of what the weather is like at various airports and what suitable alternates you have available. Ultimately you'll have to make a decision however and thats what they are looking for in the interview. They really want to see the thought process and decision making in this question. There are often no right or wrong answers they just want to see how you arrive with that answer - and obviously don't do something stupid by breaking a FAR or be the John Wayne character saving the day flying below minimums so the CEO in back can get to his meeting. Are you safe? Can your rationalize and think a tough situation through? Will you be ascertive in that decision making process etc?
 
txpilot said:
Okay, here's a supposed interview question I have heard is asked at a regional and I was wondering if it is 1)truly an interview question and 2) what you'd answer and opinions on it:

You are flying along to an airport, the weather goes down at the airport, so you have two airports to choose from. One airport has an ILS and the weather is close to minimums, but there is a line of thunderstorms between you and the airport. The second airport only has a non-precision and is below minimums. Which do you go to and why?

Please feel free to move this thread to a more appropriate forum, if it doesn't fit here.
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I would preface my answer by saying that to get in this position was the result of poor planning and judgment at some point in the flight. If the weather was okay during preflight then inadequate monitoring of flight conditions enroute was lacking. I would never allow my flight to get boxed into an unmanagable positon as is this scenario. If my flight is proceeding in the direction of a line of thunderstorms...I always have a guaranteed out...and hopefully more than one. I absolutely positively will never direct the flight path of an airplane in a direction that I know I can't get out from. That includes abandoning an approach if the missed approach path is not clear.

Now...I need more information before I can answer this question. How much gas do I have? Can I hold for 3 or 4 hours? Is the below minimums airport the result of a passing fogbank that will be clear in 20 minutes? Are the thunderstorms rapidly passing thru the other airport? Do I have enough gas/time/space to fly around the thunderstorms and approach the airport from the opposite direction? Can I get a PAR approach to the below non-precision approach min airport?


I would use this question to show the interviewer my decision making process. Identify the situation...gather facts...make a decision based upon the facts you can gather. Use all resources available to make your decision.

Good Luck.
 
I agree with most, it's a piss-poor question. The way it was explained to me was they wanted to see you wouldn't go towards the ILS or the interview was basically over. The newly-hired regional pilot was telling my friend this story and said "why would you guarantee killing yourself by going into a t-storm".

My thinking is why would you go to a non-precision below mins. With a non-precision, there's nothing guaranteed. Period. Especially if it is well below minimums, it would be foolish to try a non-precision.

At least you have a fighting chance with getting through t-storms, going around, going above, below, whatever you have to do to get to a safe airport. You can ALMOST always pick your way through a storm.

I was just curious how everybody here felt about the question and the logic. And yes, I agree, it's a no-win situation and was poor planning to get there in the first place.
 
I believe the story went along with a Pinnacle interview, but will confirm later this week when I see my buddy.
 
As I'm no expert on the interviewing processes of regional airlines, but questions like this seem to be a double edged sword. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. It appears that most of the replies have been along the lines of circumventing the storms, or holding (fuel permitting) and wait out the movement of storm...but to sit in an interview and acknowledge the fact that you would willfully/intentionally violate the FAR's to shoot a non-precision approach that is below minimums would be career suicide with that company...from my perspective. Can't believe that would be the answer they are looking for. I enjoy reading about interview experiences and to see what kind of thought provoking questions are asked during interviews. I'm sure deep down, a company (depending on the mission/sortie) would like to have a young pilot take the plane to that non-precision airport, but to publicly acknowledge that baffles me.
 
txpilot said:
I believe the story went along with a Pinnacle interview, but will confirm later this week when I see my buddy.
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Shouldn't Pinnacle be asking questions like, "You are a new FO with 100 hrs in the aircraft doing a reposition flight for mx and the Captain thinks it will be fun to 'see what this puppy has under the hood', do you go along with it since it is just you and the Captain on board?"
 
Timbuff10 said:
Shouldn't Pinnacle be asking questions like, "You are a new FO with 100 hrs in the aircraft doing a reposition flight for mx and the Captain thinks it will be fun to 'see what this puppy has under the hood', do you go along with it since it is just you and the Captain on board?"
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Thats one of those jokes where everyone is thinking it, but no one should say it....
 
Timbuff10 said:
Shouldn't Pinnacle be asking questions like, "You are a new FO with 100 hrs in the aircraft doing a reposition flight for mx and the Captain thinks it will be fun to 'see what this puppy has under the hood', do you go along with it since it is just you and the Captain on board?"
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FL410 anyone?!
 
cybourg12 said:
Thats one of those jokes where everyone is thinking it, but no one should say it....
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Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have said that... Kind of bad taste, but I think maturity of a pilot is important too when they are hiring people totally new to the industry.

18-20 year old males have high car insurance rates for a reason, and there are alot of folks fitting that criteria getting into jet cockpits at airlines these days. They need to ask more than just the "would you go below mins if the Captain said to" question.
 
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