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Originally Posted by CFIse  And if that's what your Ops Spec says then you would surely be correct in going somewhere else and heading for the hotel. Some Ops Specs give a method for using other weather reporting locations to determine if you are legal to commence the approach. If you work for one of those operators and you routinely apply your own, more conservative approach, and keep stranding passengers or freight at other airports, I'd suggest you start looking for another employer or, better still, another job, you're not cut out for flying. |
I respect your desire to "accomplish the task" for your employer. I also clearly understand that some Ops Specs give guidance and permission to do certain things, while others may be more restrictive. Do not confuse what you are allowed to do with what you should do. I proudly hang a plaque in my shop that says "Just because you can doesn't mean you should." My "conservative approach" that you refer to is nothing more than making a judgement call which is what a captain is paid to do. This thread is made up of hypothetical weather at a non existent airport. There would be obvious considerations given for shooting any actual IFR approach including crew qualifications, equipment capabilities, weather, PIREPS and and a host of other things. Once all this information is gathered, a captain can make a prudent and safe decision as to how the flight will proceed. If the decision is made to proceed to another airport, it doesn't make you any less of a pilot than the young inexperienced stud who delivered his freight by barely making it in. So many talented pilots (and their passengers) have been killed by allowing the pressure of "stranding their passengers or freight" to make the decision for them. If the approach is safe to make, then make it. If the approach is questionable then it is up to each individual pilot to make his or her decision as to how safe they want to be and how close to the edge they feel comfortable operating. It is not a right or wrong answer unless of course there is wreckage and carnage at the end of the runway.
I am in the customer service business and I take very seriously the expectations that my customers place on my employer to deliver them safely to their destinations. I very much want to get them home or where they are going. I promised myself early in my flying career that I would never allow anything, or anyone other than my common sense and judgement to decide when and how I would fly. After 358 carrier landings and 15,000 flight hours I can say that my promise has paid off. And I assure you that I get my passengers to their destinations 99.999 percent of the time in all kinds of weather conditions from mild to scary. The .001 percent that don't make it home with me can rest assured that the decision I made was mine alone, and not what some Ops Specs allowed or how I was influenced by someone who suggested once that I keep stranding passengers because I am not cut out to fly.
Hopefully at the end of the day we can all fall asleep feeling good about our performance and decisons for the day. To me, that is the mark of a great aviator.