Night Flight to Sacramento International (or: Three Legs, Three Serious Mistakes)

I recently flew a 3-leg flight from Santa Rosa to Sacramento, then on to Napa and finally back to Santa Rosa. The first leg would be flown at dusk. The last two legs would be at night. A waxing-crescent moon would help illuminate the way over California’s Sacramento Valley and the Napa wine country.

It had been a beautiful, uneventful, flight as I arrive at the outskirts of Sacramento International, call sign “Capitol Tower”.

 

The view over the Sacramento Valley at dusk enroute to Sacramento International.

Leg 1
"Cardinal 34777 do you have the airport in sight?" asked the tower controller.

Well, I thought I did.  Then, as my scan rotated out the left side window I notice two long and brightly lit runways disappearing behind my left wing tip. They look suspiciously like Sacramento International runways 34 Right and 34 Left.

Crap! Not only is this a rather large airport handling rather large aircraft, it is also sitting out in a field all by itself. How the hell did I miss those two huge parallel runways?

"I do NOW, " I emphasize to the controller, letting her know I realize I screwed up.

Not only have I missed runway 34 Left, I have already passed 34 Right! It will take a 135 turn to get back to 34 Left. Making sure the controller wouldn't prefer me to come in on the closer runway I ask,

"Capitol tower, confirm you want me on 34 Left?"
"If you can make it," she says in an accommodating manner.
" Willco, 34777."

So, where did I go wrong?

First, I had never been to the airport before and now I was trying to find it in the deceptive light of dusk.

Secondly, I had assumed that since it was such a large airport, I would have no problem finding it.

Lastly, I became fixated on a set of lights in the distance that I assumed must be the airport. Yet a quick glance at either my (very basic) GPS or out my left window would have revealed the two large runways clearly in sight.

  The lights I thought were KSMF are in the upper right of the photo. In fact, KSMF was off to the left of this photo (out of the picture).

Lessons Learned #1

• When flying to an unfamiliar airport, even one you think will be easy to locate, view the airport and surrounding terrain on Google Earth prior to the flight and identify recognizable landmarks as reference points.
• At an unfamiliar airport don't hesitate to let the tower know you are unfamiliar and ask for guidance. They are usually more than happy to help.
• Try to avoid fixation on a point that you think is the airport if you are unsure - keep scanning and review the heading indication on the GPS.

FINALLY, lined up for 34 Left!










Leg 2

Continuing my three-leg trip, it was full dark when I was ready to depart KSMF (Sacramento International) for APC, another short twenty-minute flight. The plan called for me to do a full stop at Napa and then return to Santa Rosa.

It was here that I was to make the first of two identical mistakes. Even though I had my Iphone in my pocket I did not take the time to get an updated weather report for APC.

I could either have called the ASOS  (which I had on speed dial) or I could have pulled up an Iphone application that would have instantly given me the info. Either effort would have taken no more than a minute or two. Instead, I chose to launch into the dark night (that held a real possibility of fog and clouds) without getting a weather update.

Perhaps I was thinking that the moonlight would help me see any problems. That may have worked if there was only a single layer of clouds and fog. However, there was a thin overcast layer up in the flight levels that did not allow for full illumination usually associated with full moon on a clear night. 

I repeated the same mistake at Napa prior to taking off for Santa Rosa.

This is what is known as poor aeronautical decision making (ADM). In fact, it is the worst kind of ADM. It is the kind of decision-making that makes NTSB reports. It can leave loved ones wondering how such a thing could have happened, when they hear about your fatal accident.

The National Transportation and Safety Board conclusion would read, "VFR flight into IMC with subsequent loss of control. There were no survivors."

The NTSB records have thousands of similar reports. Other pilots would posthumously chastise me for my stupidity and mourn the loss of a good aircraft.

This HAS to be the kind of mistake that, if you are lucky enough to survive it the first time, you absolutely cannot repeat it again. Writing this account down is my way of burning the mistake in my brain so that I do not forget it. Only time will tell if it has the desired effect.

To my mind, if I don't recognize and try and correct the mistake, I will plant a small seed that grows into a future decision. "Well, I got away with it THAT time, so I'll probably get away with it this time."

Lessons Learned #2

• Always, always, get an updated weather briefing before departing each leg of a multi-leg flight. It is so easy with an Internet capable phone that there is no reason not to. This is especially true if the flights occur at night.
•  Even a full moon and unlimited visibility at night is no guarantee of illumination if there is a thin cirrus layer that thickens during the flight. 
• Aeronautical decision making for night flights must take into account the added risk factors. You cannot assume that a decision that is acceptable for a day flight will provide enough margin for error for a night flight.
• A VFR night flight can turn into an IMC flight very quickly if clouds or fog are encountered.

Leg 3
Approaching STS after the tower closed seemed like a simple process. The visibility was perfect, there was no traffic And no wind. Even I couldn't screw this up, right?

Wrong.

The tower had just closed and I thought it was kind of cool that the busy airport, that always required communication with the tower, was now an uncontrolled field.

The airwaves were silent and so the entire airport and runway were all mine. Mostly because I could, I clicked the mic button seven times and watched in awe as the massive MALSR lighting system went to full bright.

With the airport glowing like downtown Las Vegas, I wouldn’t have to worry about missing this runway, I thought.

I called on the CTAF that I was entering the right 45 for runway 14. A few moments later I called right downwind for 14 and then the base turn to 14. 

Then I noticed the ILS lighting below me, which you will remember, I had recently turned up. Slowly the realization that Runway 14 doesn't have an ILS crawled out of the dark space of my mind.

"Uhhh, 777 is turning final for runway 32,” I say extra loud, “Repeat, Triple 7 is turning final for runway 32, not 14, at Santa Rosa.”

Dohh!!!

Lessons Learned #3 

• This seems to be a mistake that I continue to make over and over again. Mis-identifying runways is perhaps understandable for new pilots but there shouldn’t be any excuse for experienced pilots. I am going to add a new item to my airport approach checklist – “Runway verification? – Check.” 

Learning Lessons

I have learned that there is no such thing as a perfect flight. Every single flight I make will have some mistakes. Some will be minor and some will have the potential for a deadly outcome.

Most serious accidents are the result of a chain of events.

Something small goes wrong with the aircraft or the flight. Next, the pilot makes a small mistake. So far the minor issues are manageable. No problem, just fly the plane, says the pilot to himself.

Then one more thing happens that, when combined with the earlier issues, suddenly presents a very serious problem. Link number three in the accident chain has just occurred. Now the outcome of the flight is no longer certain.

In order to reduce the number of possible links in an accident chain, pilots must continuously and proactively strive for perfection. While it may, theoretically, be an impossible goal, every lesson learned is one less link in your next accident chain.

Gary