
You Decide
Decision-Making Scenario
In this exercise, you are a private pilot making a flight from Stockton Metro airport in Stockton, California to Modesto City-Count airport in Modesto, California. You are flying a single engine Cessna 172, with no passengers on board. You are not instrument rated, and will be making the flight under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). With full fuel tanks, you take off from Stockton for your flight of approximately 22 nautical miles.
About 15 miles out of Stockton, you hear a sudden burst of noise from your communication radio. It then goes silent. You try tuning the radio to other frequencies, but it remains silent. You plane is equipped with a second communications radio, but it has gone silent too. Your two VOR navigation receivers are still working fine, as is your GPS receiver. The indicator on your transponder continues to blink normally.
You know that you cannot hear radio communications from the ground or from other aircraft. You do not know if they can hear transmissions from you. You must now decide how and where to land. Use this scenario description and any appropriate links in the Resource List below to help you make your decision.
Resource List
You Decide Intro
Decision-Making Process