 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
M20J pilot reported having difficulty with complying with ATC headings when the workload of a night IFR flight became more than he could comfortably handle.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1400248 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201610 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | BWI.Airport |
| State Reference | MD |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | M-20 J (201) / Allegro |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Approach |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 10 Flight Crew Total 1750 Flight Crew Type 1250 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence Inflight Event / Encounter Wake Vortex Encounter |
Narrative:
On approach to bwi at night while on an IFR flight plan; but in VFR conditions; I had difficulty following ATC requested headings and I missed the intercept for the ILS. At the time my new GPS (garmin 650) self-dimmed to such a low level that it could not be seen. I could not figure out how to make it brighter and readable. At the same time the airspeed indicator and directional gyro were also poorly lighted despite the fact that I had the panel lighting turned up to maximum. I used a flashlight to light those two instruments while I was flying the plane. The original plan was to land at carroll county airport (dmw); but due to very bad weather there; at the last moment; I made a choice to land at bwi. I was also experiencing at times severe wake turbulence. Next time I should make sure that these instruments and the GPS are well lighted. Also; I waited in the decision to divert; and once I did so I was immediately exposed to an extremely busy ATC environment with no time to prepare or find the approach in my back-up paper approach plates. I was way too busy; and overwhelmed. Next time the decision to divert will be made further out and I will prepare for the approach way ahead of time. I will practice my instrument approaches more and practice landing at busy airports. Also it probably would have been much better to divert to a much less busy major GA airport such as martin state airport (mtn).
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: M20J pilot reported having difficulty with complying with ATC headings when the workload of a night IFR flight became more than he could comfortably handle.
Narrative: On approach to BWI at night while on an IFR flight plan; but in VFR conditions; I had difficulty following ATC requested headings and I missed the intercept for the ILS. At the time my new GPS (Garmin 650) self-dimmed to such a low level that it could not be seen. I could not figure out how to make it brighter and readable. At the same time the airspeed indicator and directional gyro were also poorly lighted despite the fact that I had the panel lighting turned up to maximum. I used a flashlight to light those two instruments while I was flying the plane. The original plan was to land at Carroll County Airport (DMW); but due to very bad weather there; at the last moment; I made a choice to land at BWI. I was also experiencing at times severe wake turbulence. Next time I should make sure that these instruments and the GPS are well lighted. Also; I waited in the decision to divert; and once I did so I was immediately exposed to an extremely busy ATC environment with no time to prepare or find the approach in my back-up paper approach plates. I was way too busy; and overwhelmed. Next time the decision to divert will be made further out and I will prepare for the approach way ahead of time. I will practice my instrument approaches more and practice landing at busy airports. Also it probably would have been much better to divert to a much less busy major GA airport such as Martin State Airport (MTN).
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.