Help me figure out how to make this work

[just farmin]

So you are flying for a 121 airline into an airport with two parallel runways, call them 17L and 17R, with the control tower in between them. 17R has an ILS and RVR and is currently reporting RVR below your mins. The tower is covered in fog too, and therefore is reporting viz of 1/4 mile. You can clearly see that 17L is completely in the clear. 17L has a vor approach with viz mins of 1 mile, but no RVR reporting. As a 121 carrier, how can you land on 17L?
Some of my ideas:
Cancel IFR - can't because viz is IFR
Circle from 17R - can't because circling viz mins are above 1/4 mile
Fly VOR approach - can't start approach with viz reported at 1/4 mile.
This happened to us; we got the RVR we needed on 17R, but we discussed our options while waiting for that and couldnt come up with a legal way to use 17L. Any ideas?

 

[ratherbeflyen]

Reported wx is controlling. Doesn't matter if its clear and a spider built a web over the sensor. If your 121 and wx is reported below mins you go to the alt.

 

[Weasil]

Request an update to the current "report".

 

[Rook]

As a 121 carrier, how can you land on 17L?
Any ideas?

What's the flight viz?:nuts:

 

[dispatchguy]

I had a crew do just that - holding over the airport, low layer of ground fog, could see the airport when directly above, controller said "so youre saying the flight visibility is 5 miles?"

"I spose so"

"Cleared for approach"

 

[dispatchguy]

How about this:

TAF has quarter mile in the main body for ETA.
Metar is reporting 1/4 SM, RVR is reporting 2000RVR.

Can you dispatch?

 

[Sir Innocenti]

I'd say yes cuz RVR is controlling........

 

[be-400xpdriver]

report 17L insight and ask for the visual.

 

[regionalcap]

I had a crew do just that - holding over the airport, low layer of ground fog, could see the airport when directly above, controller said "so youre saying the flight visibility is 5 miles?"

"I spose so"

"Cleared for approach"

We had a crew do something similar at ASA. They could see the airport even though the asos was reporting visiblity below mins. Feds busted them.

 

[siucavflight]

How about this:

TAF has quarter mile in the main body for ETA.
Metar is reporting 1/4 SM, RVR is reporting 2000RVR.

Can you dispatch?

Depends on the conditional language.

 

[flyboyzz1]

How about this:

TAF has quarter mile in the main body for ETA.
Metar is reporting 1/4 SM, RVR is reporting 2000RVR.

Can you dispatch?

whats the answer

 

[DrewBlows]

report 17L insight and ask for the visual.

You need 1000' and 3sm to do a visual approach. If the controller cleared you for the approach he'd be in trouble and if you attempted the approach you may be violated.

 

[regionalcap]

report 17L insight and ask for the visual.

Not without 3 miles visibility reported.

 

[flyboyzz1]

Depends on the conditional language.

Does it? I thought the main body had to be above mins and ONLY the conditional language could be below.

 

[blueridge71]

Ask the tower for a SPECI.

 

[DrewBlows]

How about this:

TAF has quarter mile in the main body for ETA.
Metar is reporting 1/4 SM, RVR is reporting 2000RVR.

Can you dispatch?

The short answer is maybe, there is not enough information.

Depending on your ops specs you may be able to use a RAMTAF which could show more favorable weather.

Another possibility is to dispatch on the basis of a METAR trend, which some carriers have the ability to do. In your example the METAR shows an RVR (controlling) of 2000'. You didn't say so, but I'm guessing the minimums for this airport are 1800' RVR for a CAT I ILS. In this instance a creative dispatcher using the right ops specs (not every company uses the same ops specs) may be able to dispatch.

 

[Flip]

This is an interesting thread and no BS yet. Wow. There is hope for flightinfo yet.

 

[FlySacto]

I had a similar situation going into SFO. Fog rolled over 28R as we were inside the FAF and under the 2000' overcast and tower said, "RVR 28R now 1000, state intentions". We could see all the way down 28L and requested it and were cleared to land. The fog hit 28L just as we rolled up to Tango. Glad we weren't 30 seconds later on that approach.

I've heard of bust (SMF) when guys landed after the RVR went down below mins when they were inside the FAF and it dropped below mins as they were about to land.

 

[wings421]

Answer - go to the alternate, sit out in the pad, and pull the slot handle...$$$...$$$...

 

[front9]

Does 17R have a Cat II approach?