Brasilia EMB-120 All Series
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence; Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Executed Go Around / Missed Approach; Flight Crew Diverted; General Declared Emergency
Weather; Procedure; Human Factors
Flight was scheduled to fly [an airport where the] ILS glide path [was] out of services; so we planned on doing the LOC approach. When we arrived at [our planned destination]; weather was reporting 2 SM RA BR; F04; ceiling 14 OVC. Center told us to hold at an intersection for about 20-25 minutes. The First Officer and I talked about BINGO fuel and determined that we would not have enough fuel; with sufficient reserves to do the hold; shoot the approach and then go to [our alternate]. We calculated that we could hold; shoot the approach; go missed and then proceed to [a non-planned alternate] and land with about 1;000 LBS. I contacted [our destination's] Operations and had them relay to Dispatch that I wanted to change alternate that we had [the other airport's] weather and it was good for an alternate. When [our destination's] Operations' called back; they advised that [the other airport] would be a good alternate and expect no station personnel there to meet us as they were off until later in the day. FBO fuel would be able to fuel us though. The First Officer said we should consider just going to an alternate; but I said I was confident that we could make it in and if we didn't; we would be able to go to [the other airport]. We stayed in the HOLD closer to 30 minutes and then started the approach. We had to go MISSED and I advised Center that we would have to divert and that we were minimum fuel at this time. We were given direct to [the other airport] and headed there. After leveling off at 11;000 FT we determined that we would land with less than 1;000 LBS. When we were finally handed off to Center for vectors to final; I restated that we were minimum fuel and would like to get vectors on to the final ILS localizer to shoot the approach. We were over the hills to the west of [the airport] and it seemed that we were on a vector that would take us too long to arrive at [the airport] so I finally went from minimum fuel to declaring a FUEL EMERGENCY and advised Center that we were turning direct to the final approach fix for the approach. We landed with about 700 LBS total fuel.I thought as a crew we did a good job monitoring the fuel situation up to the point of starting the approach. We could have asked for a point closer to [our destination] airport so that we wouldn't have used as much fuel in approach or a different approach that we would have been closer to airport. With Center I should have asked him his intention on where he was going to vector us to; and then maybe I would have been able to communicate if I thought it would work without declaring an Emergency.
EMB120 Captain reports holding for 30 minutes prior to being cleared for a localizer approach at the destination airport. The approach is missed and the flight diverts to an alternate airport 90 NM away; landing with 700 LBS of fuel.