Late runway switch/thunderstorm

[BobDDuck]

I like these weather ones...

FO is flying. Heading into an airport with parallel 22/4 and a single 18/36. ATIS is calling for calm winds and scattered clouds at 3300. It is just after dark. On the arrival you deviate to the south of a large thunderstorm but break out of a scattered deck at 4000 and 10 miles from the airport. The radar is showing another cell about 10 miles on the other side of the airport, which you can visually see throwing off some lightning. You are set up to land on 22R and head direct the marker.

Upon check in tower tells you the wind is now 340@11 gusting to 17 and says 4L is available if you want it. (quick note.... 22L/4R is shorter and a longer taxi so it's not normally used). The FO enters a right downwind for 4L and starts rebriefing the approach as he descends down to 1500 and slows. The storm that was to the south west of the airport (the one that was on the other side for the initial approach) has started moving towards the field. Tower reports the winds are now 360@17 gusting 28. Meanwhile your FO calls for flaps and gear while he starts to turn base. At 1000 AGL he is configured but you both realize that he has lined up for 36 and not 4L. It is still possible to make 4L but it will involve being stable at around 200 feet AGL with gusty winds. You know the FO can probably do it no problem but you won't be meeting your stabilized approach criteria and the winds may make it not happen. If you call for a go around and try it again, the storm will probably be over the field by the time you can get back around. You have no alternate and maybe enough gas to hang out for 15 minutes before needed to land somewhere.

You are the captain. What do you do?

[jtrain609]

The chances of anybody else making it into the airport at the exactly same time when you did with a situation like this are small I'd imagine, so I'd just request to land on 36. If you can't do that, take it around. There's no reason to be unstabalized that close to the ground.

And if I were in the RIGHT seat and saw a captain trying to circle to the 4L runway and not being stabalized sooner I'd tell him we should be going around. So what if you have to divert, it's better than bending metal.

And speaking of that, the rules about stabalizing approaches are there to keep YOU safe from YOURSELF, ATC and the company. Don't break or bend those operating rules just to get in somewhere, because they're there to help you. Use them to your advantage, not to save the company a few bucks on having to burn some extra gas and divert.

[calcapt]

Agree with jtrain. Request to land on 36 (assuming it's suitable) or go around. If the storm is a fast mover and small, hang out for 5 or 10 minutes until it passes; otherwise, head for the closest airport that offers better options. JMHO

[BobDDuck]

Sorry... forgot to include that 36 was closed (but the lights were on and no lighted X on the runway).

Fuel situation: We (hypothetically) had had to weave around a lot of stuff on the way in. Also, there was no weather in the forcast for the airport so hence after a go round we wouldn't have had anything over our normal 2000 pounds of gas for reserve. That would have given us about 15-20 minutes to circle somewhere before we needed to be on final approach for a runway.

So the decision tree went something like

Land
--- but not stable
OR
Go around
--- storm slows and able to make normal traffic pattern around
OR
Storm shuts down the airport and we hold or divert right away
--- Storm rolls over in less the 15 minutes and we land
OR
Storm takes more then 15 minutes to leave and we are screwed


I don't think I am trying to justify an (hypothetical) crappy approach. It just always seems amazing to me how despite the fact that we try very hard to keep open options and avoid traps like this, they happen very easily.

[calcapt]

If you elect to go around you have to assume that with your fuel situation you will have to go somewhere else right away. I don't think I would hang around hoping things will get better and have them not - that would surely create additional problems and lessen your options. I think with the information you were presented with, I would maneuver the aircraft to rwy 4 and do the best you can. At times I have had to abandon the normal stable approach criteria by a bit to make something work. I don't typically do this, but sometimes being a bit fast or high beats the alternative. If you know you can land safely, I think you did the correct thing. I agree with you that despite all our planning and training, there are times that you just have to do something a little out of the ordinary to make it all work out. That is called wisdom and judgement which it sounds like you have an abundance of.

[jtrain609]

Are you saying you'd have 15-20 minutes left in the tanks to circle AFTER you made it to the alternate, or you'd have 15-20 minutes left in the tanks TO GET TO the alternate?

[BobDDuck]

To get to an alternate after doing a go round.

"Normal" reserver on a nice weather day is 45 minutes of fuel. There was no forcasted weather at our destination so that's all they gave us. We burned about 15 minutes deviating around a storm over Memphis and then got vectored around a bit down low to get to the airport due to another storm. Jets gulp gas down low. So, figure we went missed (which uses about 400 pounds of gas with the power increase) we would have been down to 20 minutes or so of gas total. In order to do a go around (if we had to for the second time) you need about 800 pounds a side (1600 total) so it would have been pretty much impossible if we had went missed the first time, waited around (or boogied to another airport) to go missed again.

Moral of the story... summer weather = extra gas no matter what.

[jtrain609]

Did you declare? We're required to call minimum fuel at 45 minutes left in the tanks and declare with 30 minutes left in the tanks.

It's a bad situation to be in, but it's got a lot of points where the situation could have been stopped too. I'm not trying to Monday morning quarterback, BTW, just commenting on a few things.

Did you write up an incident report about this? If you didn't, maybe you should and bring to light the fact that the company's reserves were not adequate and that in the future you'll be bringing more. A paper trail to cover your butt is always a good thing...

[EDUC8-or]

I would land and go to the Clinton Museum ASAP.