FlightFollowerInclement Weather and Low Fuel | ATC save pilot’t Life
Accident Facts
- Date
- 1 March 2024
- Aircraft
- Beech 36 Bonanza N715MW
- Pilot
- Josh Wilks
- Route
- Cisco, Texas to Smyrna, Tennessee
- Controllers
- Jaime Romaker, Will Mitchell and Steven Brader — Nashville ATCT
What Happened
On 1 March 2024, Beech 36 Bonanza N715MW was flying from Cisco, Texas toward Smyrna Airport in Tennessee on a VFR flight with flight following. As the aircraft approached the Nashville area, a controller familiar with the weather at Smyrna warned that conditions were unlikely to remain suitable for a VFR landing.
The pilot, Josh Wilks, reported that he had about 45 minutes of fuel remaining and asked for help finding another airport. When asked whether he was IFR capable, he said he was not. That distinction shaped the rest of the response: the controllers could not simply clear him for an instrument approach flown under IFR, so they had to find a route and airport that the pilot could use while managing deteriorating weather and limited fuel.
Searching for a Way Through
Nashville controllers first considered Nashville International Airport, which was reporting VMC. Conditions deteriorated before that remained a viable option. Shelbyville Municipal Airport was then considered, but conditions elsewhere were changing quickly. John C. Tune Airport began reporting improving conditions, creating a possible route through the cloud layer.
Controller Jaime Romaker coordinated the response before controller Will Mitchell took over the radar position. Mitchell discussed the available options with the pilot and recognized that simply pointing the airplane toward the airport would not solve the problem: the pilot still had to descend through cloud without an instrument rating.
The Descent
The first plan was a slow spiral descent over John C. Tune Airport. The aircraft initially descended only a few hundred feet and at one point began climbing. Mitchell then changed the plan, using straighter flight paths and shallow turns while giving the pilot a controlled descent rate. The pilot eventually reported seeing the ground. Mitchell confirmed that he had the airport in sight and cleared the aircraft to land.
NATCA later recognized Mitchell, Romaker and Steven Brader with an Archie League Medal of Safety Award for the event. The award record documents the same sequence and the controllers' coordination during the emergency.
Outcome
N715MW landed safely at John C. Tune. The event is significant not because ATC performed an instrument approach for a VFR pilot, but because the controllers adapted the plan as weather and fuel constraints changed and kept the pilot within a procedure he could actually execute.