To Go or Not to Go, That is the Question

Filed in archive Personal Thoughts , Safety on July 8, 2005

I got a chance to fly yesterday, a business trip, on a short jaunt from my hometown to a location about an hour away. I'm a fair-weather pilot and there were some remnants of tropical storm Cindy still lingering, but the weather briefer indicated all was well so I made the decision to go. Boy, I'm sure glad I did too! Even with a lot of updrafts and some pretty heavy cumulus clouds above 11,000 it was an enjoyable trip, especially on the way back. Smooth as glass!

That does bring to mind one point worth making regarding the go/no-go decision. Weather is something every pilot has to take into consideration each time we fly. Since I'm still a low-time VFR pilot obviously I can't launch off into the great unknown without some pretty good assurances I'm not going to encounter inclement weather along the route.

For me, it comes down to a question of not so much whether I CAN go, but whether I SHOULD. While getting updated weather briefings is vital, it's still a very subjective decision, and I have learned to trust my gut.

Let me add that I have not one bit of "getthereitis" in me. And, had I encountered bad weather along the route, I would have immediately turned around and headed home, or at the very least contacted Flight Watch for info on routes around the weather (and called Memphis center as well).

One incident from childhood sticks with me to this day. One stormy Sunday evening I was sitting in my bedroom at home reading. All of a sudden I heard a sound off in the distance that still haunts me and I can remember it like it was yesterday.

The sound was of an aircraft in what I learned later was a steep, fast dive. Moments later I heard an explosion. It happened not far from my home located in a rural community. People all over the community heard it as well. It was fairly obvious to us what had happened - an airplane had crashed.

Scores of people grabbed their flashlights and headed out in the direction of the explosion. We searched throughout the night trying to find the location, but to no avail. It wasn't until the next morning that the crash site was found. Tragically, everyone on board the small plane had perished. It was a gruesome scene.

I don't know if the pilot was IFR rated. I do know that his decision to fly through that thunderstorm at night was ill-advised and resulted in the death of his entire family.

Thank God small plane crashes still make the news, at least those that result in fatalities. That tells me they are relatively infrequent.

No pilot ever intends to make a bad decision. Hopefully, we all try to use sound judgment regarding not only the weather, but our state of mind. Are we fatigued? Are we thinking clearly? Are we in a good frame of mind? Physical and psychological factors play just as important a role as anything external such as sky conditions.

I never intend to become a statistic reported on the evening news. As such, I will always err on the side of caution. No matter the occasion, whether business or pleasure, it's always wise to make the choice to fly another day.

The AOPA has a great article on making the go/no-go decision. Though you have to be a member to read it - you should be anyway - it's certainly worth taking the time to do so.