I attend the controller's "Communicating for Safety" conference each year,
so I talk to a lot of controllers from around the country. They are
unanimous in saying that their primary interest is in getting the NORDO
aircraft on the ground as soon as possible.

I see Don Brown at these meetings, as well, and we have some interesting
conversations. Don is not a pilot, as most of us know, and his "by the book"
approach is not shared by all of his compatriots.

If I were to lose comms in IFR I would fly airways to my destination, using
MEAs all the way, and shoot an approach at the other end (that's a good
argument for filing airways and then asking for "direct" on first contact
with Center). Having flown jets in the flight levels, I would not follow the
same procedure because of fuel considerations...I would stay high until a
moderate descent rate would get me to an IAF at the appropriate altitude.
However, every jet I have ever been in has had an air-ground telephone and I
suspect it would be used if VHF comms were lost.

Your contention that ATC might somehow forget to sterilize the airspace is
puerile. If they don't apply the sterilization until after they have
confirmed that comms have been lost, how could they forget?

Bob Gardner



"Jim Baker" wrote in message
...
I'm not sure what you mean by your comments Bob. Do you mean that they
said fly to your destination "AS PLANNED", what Brown says in his
articles, or fly to the destination that you're enroute to and let down
enroute and land? Don't know for sure, but I'm guessing you mean that the
controllers were urging the later. I sure diagree with following that
advice. Of course we're talking about NORDO in IMC, an extremely unlikely
event, but worth, of course, the discussion. How any pilot could follow
that advice is beyond me. Who here is willing to bet that the
controller(s) is/are sterilizing the airspace and not expecting you to
follow procedure? Who here is willing to bet they won't hit another
aircraft? Who here is willing to bet that a supervisor or a grouchy
controller isn't going to file against them for violating the regs? At
the hearing, who here thinks all those controllers that we hear about
urging us to violate the regs in this unlikely occurrence are going to
show up in defense of the pilot who violated a regulation and put an
airliner at risk, at least in somebodys mind?

In answer to Dave, in a general sense not using an IAP for any particular
airport, I'd rely on the weather forcast I got on departure, updated
weather if I had it, and pick an approach for the appropriate runway. If
there's a holding pattern depicted for the rwy IAP, enter at the altitude
you've chosen consistent with NORDO procedures and descend in that holding
pattern to make good the time described for NORDO procedures in the AIM.
(Pretty general here since I don't have an AIM in front of me). If
there's no holding pattern depicted, I'd fly to the IAF at the altitude I
had picked (see above) and set up a standard holding pattern and descent
in that pattern to make good the time at the airport or the IAF. Will
this inconveniece people? Maybe. But the alternative, again in this
unlikely scenario, is potentially so unsafe that I wonder why anyone would
even consider it.

Jim


"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
Conventional wisdom, according to every controller I have ever discussed
this with, is to forget about the regs, fly to the destination as planned
and shoot an approach. Their reasoning is that once you are identified as
NORDO, either by transponder or by failing to communicate, they will
sterilize the airspace around the destination until you are on the
ground. They do not want to keep other planes hanging while you comply
with the regs.

You will not find this in writing in any official pub.

Bob Gardner

wrote in message
oups.com...

I was just reading Don Brown's latest (6/22) on avweb:
http://www.avweb.com/news/columns/189944-1.html

This column is about NORDO IFR procedures. I like Don's columns and
find their nitpickiness to be consistent with safe flying, if a little
bit annoying.

But in this column, two things stuck out at me as odd.

First:

Flight plan was: HKY..BZM.V20.SUG.V185.SOT.V136.VXV..TYS
VXV is an IAF for TYS.

Don's interpretation of the AIM is that since the pilot was almost
certainly cleared to TYS, then that's his clearance limit. The regs say
fly to your clearance limit, and initiate your approach at the ETA.
That means a pilot would fly to VXV (his IAF), fly to the airport (?!),
fly back to VXV, then do full approach.

It seems a tad ridiculous, no?


Second:

Descent. We all know the rules about staying at the highest of our
last clearance, the MEA, or an altitude given in an EFC. If we filed
for 15000 and the airport is at, say, sea level, there's a lot of
altitude to lose. When and where is the right time to do this? I'm
embarassed to say I never really thought about it much before. Usually,
controllers descend us gradually. Or if we're VFR we descend ourselves
gradually. But the rules make it clear you're to keep the altitude up
until ... when? When you start the approach? Come down in a hold?
where?

He bring's this up also questioning this, and mentioning the AIM
paragraph that says these proecedures don't always fit; use your own
judgement, etc.

Still, I'd like to know what I was going to do in this situation. What
would you do?

-- dave j
-- jacobowitz73 --at-- yahoo --dot-- com