AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024 - 82

Three days earlier
The pilot had recently purchased
N9622T-a Cessna 210-and flown
the airplane from Nebraska to Belen
Regional Airport in Belen, New
Mexico, to visit his girlfriend for the
weekend before heading home to
Corsicana, Texas. He had felt sick
during the flight, and he continued
feeling queasy, fatigued, dizzy, and
generally ill during the weekend.
On the morning of October 26, the
pilot planned the flight to Corsicana,
using ForeFlight to review
convective weather charts at 6:28
and 6:58 a.m. At 11:46 a.m., he used
ForeFlight again to obtain a weather
briefing for the IFR flight from
Belen Regional Airport (BRG) to C.
David Campbell Field-Corsicana
Municipal Airport (CRS).
The pilot planned a cruising altitude
of 11,000 feet msl and to depart
controller cleared the Cessna to
Corsicana via radar vectors with
instructions to climb and maintain
9,000 feet msl. The controller
warned that along the route, the
flight would need to be at 12,000
feet for about 20 miles. Moments
later ATC instructed the pilot to turn
north and climb to 12,000 feet msl.
N9622T was now 15 miles south
of Albuquerque, heading north and
staying to the west of the Manzano
Mountain Wilderness area. ATC
planned to turn the Cessna east
and back toward Corsicana once
the airplane was above the high
terrain. At 12:17 p.m., the controller
instructed N9622T to turn right to
a heading of 040 degrees. The pilot
complied, freezing rain looming in
his flight path.
At 12:22 p.m., the controller
warned N9622T of possible
The pilot insisted that he wanted to beat the weather
and would stay farther south to avoid the conditions.
at 11:55 a.m. The 661-mile flight to
the east would cross from Mountain
Daylight Time into Central Daylight
Time-one hour ahead.
Cloudy and bitter cold weather
enveloped Belen's nontowered airport
as the pilot approached the
fuel pump to top off the Cessna's
tanks. The cold conditions made it
unpleasant if not difficult to operate
the equipment, and when an airport
employee helped him fuel the
aircraft he thanked him, saying he
appreciated it. Light snow began to
fall as the airport employee watched
the Cessna depart.
The flight
At 12:06 p.m., the pilot contacted
Albuquerque Tracon. Shortly
thereafter, ATC radar identified the
Cessna 3 miles southeast of Belen
Regional Airport at 6,800 feet msl.
As it reached 7,200 feet msl, the
82
AOPA PILOT / December 2024
light, mixed icing 8 miles ahead,
reported by an aircraft descending
out of Flight Level 180. The
pilot of N9622T reported to ATC
that he had already picked up icing
from light freezing rain, yet he
didn't express concern. He never
mentioned that the Cessna wasn't
equipped for flight into known icing
(FIKI) or that he'd welcome assistance
when the controller offered.
About five minutes later, ATC
cleared the flight direct Corsicana.
Since the pilot requested a lower
altitude and Albuquerque Center
had lower minimum vectoring and
IFR altitudes, the tracon controller
handed N9622T off to Albuquerque
Center, which at 12:33 p.m. approved
a descent to 11,000 feet and 17 minutes
later to 9,000 feet msl.
After about two hours en
route, N9622T crossed into Texas
and the pilot checked in with
Fort Worth ATC requesting to
divert to Lubbock Preston Smith
International Airport for fuel considerations.
The controller cleared
N9622T direct to the airport.
It was now 2:58 p.m. Central
time. N9622T contacted Lubbock
Approach and the controller asked
if the pilot wished to fly direct to
an initial approach fix or receive
vectors to final. The pilot opted
for the latter. Lubbock Approach
descended the flight to 5,200 feet
msl at 3:22 p.m.
After six minutes, the controller
cleared N9622T for the Lubbock
RNAV (GPS) Y approach to Runway
35 Left with instructions to fly a
heading of 020 and maintain 5,200
feet until established. The pilot
asked, " That was the One Seven
Right approach, correct? " The controller
reiterated, " Three Five Left
approach, the RNAV Yankee Three
Five Left. "
Two minutes later, responding
to the Cessna pilot's question about
the next intersection, ATC advised,
" Centurion Two Two Tango, you're
coming up at UFACI, that's the final
approach fix and you are cleared
for the RNAV Y Three Five Left
approach once established. " The
pilot of N9622T responded, " Roger,
I'm getting...can you just give me vectors
please? " to which the controller
replied, " Centurion Two Two Tango,
you want me to break you off and
bring you back around for it again? "
The pilot confirmed, and ATC cancelled
the clearance and issued a
vector for another approach.
At 3:31 p.m., the pilot requested
the EMUMY intersection and
received instructions to continue
his heading, then expect to pass the
intersection and make a right turn
back to it. The controller cleared
N9622T again for the RNAV (GPS)
Y Runway 35 Left approach.
About 15 minutes into the
approach, ATC queried the pilot
about icing and he confirmed experiencing
icing and freezing rain. Again,
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2024

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