Narrative:

I accepted a patient transfer flight from hospital a to our destination; with the intention of proceeding VFR to hospital a from hospital B. I planned to execute an IFR flight from hospital a to the destination in order to avoid known IMC conditions along that planned route of flight. Airport weather conditions at time of launch from hospital B were as follows: aoo: XA53Z: winds: calm visibility: 5 SM in light rain and mist. Ceiling 2500 broken; temp/dew point: 10/09; altimeter 29.99. Hmz: XA35Z: winds: calm. Visibility: 5 SM in rain. Ceiling 2300 broken; 2800 ovc. Temp/dew point: 11/11 altimeter: 30.22. While enroute (under nvg flight) we encountered widely scattered areas of fog and lower than reported ceilings. My initial judgment call was to circumnavigate the areas of reduced ceilings and continue to our original destination. However; this option quickly ceased to be viable as the ceilings and visibility continued to deteriorate and these conditions became more widespread. I decided to establish a small holding pattern about 6 miles north of hospital a (in VMC conditions) while I opened the approach plate for hospital a and requested a 'pop-up' IFR clearance to execute the approach. However; due to the deteriorating weather; it became clear that I would be unable to maintain VMC conditions while holding. At this time; I announced to the crew that we were in iimc; and we contacted center. I declared the emergency with center; executed the iimc checklist with the medical crew; and we were cleared back to the hospital B for the GPS approach at 4;500 ft. The medical crew handled notification to statcom. We regained full VMC conditions while abeam the hospital B and before we ever arrived at the initial approach fix. I cancelled the IFR handling and we made an uneventful landing. The transport coordinator and the flight followers decided to send the medical crew by ground instead of taking the chance that a second attempt to land at hospital a may not be successful due to fog and continued deteriorating conditions.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EMS Helicopter encountered IMC conditions while attempting VFR flight in marginal conditions.

Narrative: I accepted a patient transfer flight from Hospital A to our destination; with the intention of proceeding VFR to Hospital A from Hospital B. I planned to execute an IFR flight from Hospital A to the destination in order to avoid known IMC conditions along that planned route of flight. Airport weather conditions at time of launch from Hospital B were as follows: AOO: XA53Z: Winds: Calm Visibility: 5 SM in light rain and mist. Ceiling 2500 BKN; Temp/dew point: 10/09; Altimeter 29.99. HMZ: XA35Z: Winds: Calm. Visibility: 5 SM in rain. Ceiling 2300 BKN; 2800 OVC. Temp/dew point: 11/11 Altimeter: 30.22. While enroute (under NVG flight) we encountered widely scattered areas of fog and lower than reported ceilings. My initial judgment call was to circumnavigate the areas of reduced ceilings and continue to our original destination. However; this option quickly ceased to be viable as the ceilings and visibility continued to deteriorate and these conditions became more widespread. I decided to establish a small holding pattern about 6 miles north of Hospital A (in VMC conditions) while I opened the approach plate for Hospital A and requested a 'pop-up' IFR clearance to execute the approach. However; due to the deteriorating weather; it became clear that I would be unable to maintain VMC conditions while holding. At this time; I announced to the crew that we were in IIMC; and we contacted Center. I declared the emergency with Center; executed the IIMC checklist with the medical crew; and we were cleared back to the Hospital B for the GPS Approach at 4;500 FT. The medical crew handled notification to StatCom. We regained full VMC conditions while abeam the Hospital B and before we ever arrived at the initial approach fix. I cancelled the IFR handling and we made an uneventful landing. The transport coordinator and the flight followers decided to send the medical crew by ground instead of taking the chance that a second attempt to land at Hospital A may not be successful due to fog and continued deteriorating conditions.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.