A United Airlines Boeing 737-700 was scheduled to operate flight 471 from San Antonio to Washington Dulles (IAD) on Friday, November 6. After pushing back and while taxiing, the crew questioned the routing proposed by air traffic control, which would have taken the aircraft through the worst part of a severe thunderstorm. A recording shared by Aviation MP4 shows the pilot saying he would speak with United dispatch, and the crew refusing to fly through what would have been up to four hours of challenging weather, which they said would be demanding for the crew and uncomfortable for passengers. The report says the incident is believed to have taken place on November 6, but Simple Flying notes this has not been confirmed.
The crew asked to return to the initial routing, which would have taken the Washington-bound flight south of the severe weather. Air traffic control reevaluated the plan while the pilots spoke to dispatch, which backed the crew, noting they should not fly through the adverse weather, and the crew was ultimately permitted to fly an alternative route. Simple Flying reached out to United for comment, but had not received a response by the time the article was published.
Flight 471 is a daily service from San Antonio to Washington Dulles, scheduled to depart at 7:00 AM and arrive at 11:13 AM, with a usual flight time of two hours and 45 minutes; according to the pilot’s commentary in the recording, the proposed route through the thunderstorm would have added almost an hour of extra flying time. The episode illustrates the pilot in command’s final authority over the operation and safety of the aircraft: a pilot may reject a clearance believed to be unsafe, request an alternative, and declare an emergency and deviate from an air traffic control clearance without prior permission if safety is compromised.