Medium Large Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
General None Reported / Taken
ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Human Factors; Procedure; Weather
I found the accuracy of the weather reporting in MYAM to be lacking. Prior to dep; the reported weather in MYAM was well above the forecast and did not seem to correlate with satellite and RADAR imagery. Enroute; I requested current weather from my dispatcher we received in part: 2600 OVC and 8 mile visibility. Upon checking in with our final MIA CTR controller; he advised for us to 'expect to divert; MYAM is IFR and the last 3 aircraft were unable to make it in.' I elected to hold near the field until I exhausted my hold fuel. While holding; an [air carrier] flight reported the ceiling on app to 27 at 700 ft. We maneuvered west of the field as [it] looked generally clearer there and got permission from Nassau ATC to descend to 1500 MSL. Just prior to our hold fuel running out; we were able to visually acquire Runway 9 and received permission to descend visually from Nassau radio. Upon landing; I estimated to Weather to be 1000 broken save the nice hole we found west to the field and visibility no more that 3-5 miles with light rain.During our preflight prep; we noticed the weather deteriorating as the rain intensified. The certified weather observer gave us a face to face weather report from inside our cockpit by observing field conditions through our rain soaked windshield. He flippantly reported '330/05 alt 30.02 temp 17 dewpoint 16 overcast at 2500.' I asked about the visibility and he reported 7 miles. I never noticed him refer to any written information or use any environmental measuring devices. While I have no faith that this report was accurate or utilized any accepted meteorology measuring techniques; I elected to accept it because he was 'certified' and therefore 'approved weather' per our FOM and 10-7 pages. I estimated that we had greater than the required visibility to depart IFR. We contacted Nassau Radio and were able to depart IFR 1 hour 25 minutes after door closing after a little coordination with MIA CTR. During climb; I estimated the ceiling to be around 1100 AGL with visibility less than 3 miles. The operational environment in and out of MYAM is very challenging due to no ACARS coverage; non-RADAR procedures; no control tower; and no automated weather reporting; inability to utilize published approach procedures per company guidance. We need better and more accurate weather reporting to ensure an expectable level of risk in MYAM and better operational decisions. The Company needs to determine why we are not allowed to use published instrument approach procedures (IAP). I am aware of many diversions occurring inbound to MYAM. These could be avoided with better weather accuracy and access to published IAPs.
Air carrier Captain reported having some doubts about the accuracy and reliability of weather reporting at MYAM.