Terrain rising, controller not giving climb clearance... what to do?

Question

Over the weekend, I asked for a zone transit for some class D airspace surrounding two large airports.

This is because the Minimum Safe Altitude for the area is 3,200ft and the airspace started initially at 4,000 feet, descending to 3,000 and then to 2,000 as I got closer to my destination.

Anyway initially they said the usual "call you back" and then 3 miles out asked me to transit below controlled airspace (stay below 4,000ft). Whilst this was ok initially, as I got closer to my destination, the terrain was rising (remember that MSA), whilst the airspace was closing in above me, meaning I had to continue to descend.

When I was down to 3,400, I asked for permission to climb (into the airspace), which was denied.

I then had no choice, I had to descend below the MSA to stay clear of the airspace.

What would the appropriate course of action be in this situation?

If it helps, I have included a diagram below. Green line was the approx course and I have highlighted the airspace altitudes in red.

Answer 1

I'm sorry to say, this was an absolute lack of prior planning. I don't mean this in an insulting way, far from it, but you must not let the aircraft get ahead of you. In this case, thinking you had nowhere to go but down, you only really should have taken one course of action and that was a 180 turn.

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The sector you were in, at the lower left of your image actually has a maximum elevation figure of 2,200 MSL. The sector just north of it is 3,300 MSL, but remember this is a huge sector, covering the lower half of the welsh mountains, the nearest peak to you was roughly 13 NM north at 1,969. There is another peak at 2,907 but that was more like 20+ nm away. There was also a antanae at 1,416 at about your 1 o'clock position.

Proper planning, would have told you that, although below the advised "maximum elevation" for the sector, you were in no danger continuing your (presumed) route - assuming you were going to remain well clear of that antanae. Your planned route should have avoided it.

You were also (roughly) on the extended centreline of Cardiff international airport, expecting to climb there was never going to happen. You should have planned to stay below any controlled airspace at that location during pre-flight planning.

Plan better before you leave the ground.

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I highly suggest you read the CAA safety sense leaflet on VFR flight. There's some gold in there:

When reviewing the route, you should look for airspace hazards, high ground and obstacles. Take account of the hazards in your planning, for example if the cloud base may be lower than forecast, a route further away from high ground will be preferable.

A formal ‘minimum safe’ altitude is not a legal requirement for VFR flight, but you should establish altitudes for the intended route or area of operation, below which you will not continue the flight. You should have alternatives planned should the weather prove unsuitable to continue.

Note that the ‘Maximum Elevation Figures’ (MEF) on VFR charts are just the highest terrain or obstruction thought to be present within the specified area. The MEF does not include a margin and is not a minimum safe altitude.

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For what it's worth, if I had found myself in this position, I would have been tempted to make a beeline for the coast. Other than wind turbines, there's few obstacles. I have a clear coastline I can follow, and it would take me away from any airspace.

Answer 2

MSA does not apply when flying VFR. You might still use it as a guideline, but the margins used when calculating MSA are extremely large, so you will often end up flying much higher than needed.

The minimum levels to be followed under VFR are as follows:

(f) Except when necessary for take-off or landing, or except by permission from the competent authority, a VFR flight shall not be flown:

(1) over the congested areas of cities, towns or settlements or over an open-air assembly of persons at a height less than 300 m (1 000 ft) above the highest obstacle within a radius of 600 m from the aircraft;

(2) elsewhere than as specified in (1), at a height less than 150 m (500 ft) above the ground or water, or 150 m (500 ft) above the highest obstacle within a radius of 150 m (500 ft) from the aircraft.

(Source: SERA.5005, which is referenced in UK AIP ENR 1.2 section 1.3. With which you should be familiar when flying in the UK.)

Looking at a chart of that area, you could easily comply with these rules while staying below controlled airspace. And being VFR, you could easily verify this by looking out the window to confirm that you were nowhere near the ground.

So I have to agree with Jamiec that this situation could (should) have been prevented by better preflight planning.

However, to answer your question directly, the appropriate course of action if you encounter a situation where you are unable to continue forward safely is to turn around. If this, for some reason, is not possible, you have to make this clear to ATC. Again, this doesn't apply to this specific flight since you were nowhere near the terrain, but if you had been, explain this to ATC and request a climb to stay clear of terrain. If this is denied and you are unable to turn around (for example due to weather), that is an imminent threat to the safety of your flight. The correct course of action in such a situation is a mayday call, after which you will be given a climb immediately.

Consider ATC a resource you can use during a flight, not a limiting factor. If you had mentioned to ATC that you were worried about staying clear of the terrain, they would easily have been able to explain to you that there was nothing to worry about. Continuing to request climb without giving a reason gives the controller no clue why you are persisting, and thus very little chance for them to help you.