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A flight instructor observer pilot reported not being assertive enough and allowed the pilot; who was presumably operating under VFR; to proceed to and land at an airport that was below VMC.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1468179 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201707 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | FOD.Airport |
| State Reference | IA |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Small Aircraft High Wing 1 Eng Fixed Gear |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Other / Unknown |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 20 Flight Crew Total 800 Flight Crew Type 40 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural FAR Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
Flying as an 'extra set of eyes' for a pilot friend; we inadvertently flew into a class east surface airport with weather below VFR minimums. When approximately 10-15 miles west of FOD; we picked up the AWOS weather and observed the field was barely above VFR minimums: 1000 ft broken; 10 SM visibility. I pointed out to the pilot that there was an airport 10 miles northwest of our position that was reporting VFR; in case FOD went below minimums. The pilot elected to continue to FOD to take a look. After descending; we picked up the AWOS again and observed the clouds were now at 800 ft broken. Already being below the clouds and 2 miles from the airport; the pilot elected to continue and land at FOD. Looking back; this was probably the safer option at that point; already being under the cloud deck; but we never should have gotten to that in the first place. The landing was uneventful and we waited on the ground until the weather raised back to VFR minimums; and departed for the rest of our trip. Lessons learned: I should have been more forceful with the pilot on the suggestion of going to the alternate airport that was VFR. The pilot may not have understood that FOD was class east and the weather minimums associated with class east. It was ignorant to proceed into deteriorating weather; when a viable alternate was so close.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A flight instructor observer pilot reported not being assertive enough and allowed the pilot; who was presumably operating under VFR; to proceed to and land at an airport that was below VMC.
Narrative: Flying as an 'extra set of eyes' for a pilot friend; we inadvertently flew into a class E surface airport with weather below VFR minimums. When approximately 10-15 miles west of FOD; we picked up the AWOS weather and observed the field was barely above VFR minimums: 1000 ft Broken; 10 SM visibility. I pointed out to the pilot that there was an airport 10 miles northwest of our position that was reporting VFR; in case FOD went below minimums. The pilot elected to continue to FOD to take a look. After descending; we picked up the AWOS again and observed the clouds were now at 800 ft broken. Already being below the clouds and 2 miles from the airport; the pilot elected to continue and land at FOD. Looking back; this was probably the safer option at that point; already being under the cloud deck; but we never should have gotten to that in the first place. The landing was uneventful and we waited on the ground until the weather raised back to VFR minimums; and departed for the rest of our trip. Lessons learned: I should have been more forceful with the pilot on the suggestion of going to the alternate airport that was VFR. The pilot may not have understood that FOD was class E and the weather minimums associated with class E. It was ignorant to proceed into deteriorating weather; when a viable alternate was so close.
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.