A C-208 instrument rated pilot got trapped by unexpected weather and an autopilot deferred inoperati...

Narrative:

I checked the weather before departure and it was 600 overcast and 10 miles at ogg with a few rain showers in between. The general weather pattern for the morning was improving east to west and was already improving at ogg. I departed VFR for the 25 minute flight to ogg. When I was 2/3 of the way across the channel the visibility dropped a little so I headed towards the better visibility. I was following the west shoreline southbound between 1;000-2;000 ft to stay VFR. It got to the point I could not stay VFR so I turned around and tried to go around the north shore. I am checked out to be single pilot IFR w/autopilot in leu of sic however; the autopilot was MEL'd inoperative. I flew northbound and listened to the ogg ATIS. It reported 2.5 mile visibility with a 2;900 foot ceiling. I called approach around nakalele and told them I would hold a while to see if the field went back to VFR. I was holding for a few turns and the visibility was getting worse where I was and where I came from had been closed in with IMC weather; too. I picked up an IFR clearance and landed safely in ogg. I believed this was the safest option since the weather had deteriorated around me; and I could not turn back to mkk or I would be in IMC as well.the cause of the problem was weather moving in and an MEL'd autopilot. The solution would have been to have an sic on board; or a working autopilot.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A C-208 instrument rated pilot got trapped by unexpected weather and an autopilot deferred inoperative enroute to OGG. In technical violation of company policy which required either an SIC or an autopilot; he obtained an IFR clearance to complete the flight.

Narrative: I checked the weather before departure and it was 600 overcast and 10 miles at OGG with a few rain showers in between. The general weather pattern for the morning was improving east to west and was already improving at OGG. I departed VFR for the 25 minute flight to OGG. When I was 2/3 of the way across the channel the visibility dropped a little so I headed towards the better visibility. I was following the west shoreline southbound between 1;000-2;000 FT to stay VFR. It got to the point I could not stay VFR so I turned around and tried to go around the North shore. I am checked out to be single pilot IFR w/autopilot in leu of SIC however; the autopilot was MEL'd INOP. I flew northbound and listened to the OGG ATIS. It reported 2.5 mile visibility with a 2;900 foot ceiling. I called Approach around Nakalele and told them I would hold a while to see if the field went back to VFR. I was holding for a few turns and the visibility was getting worse where I was and where I came from had been closed in with IMC weather; too. I picked up an IFR clearance and landed safely in OGG. I believed this was the safest option since the weather had deteriorated around me; and I could not turn back to MKK or I would be in IMC as well.The cause of the problem was weather moving in and an MEL'd autopilot. The solution would have been to have an SIC on board; or a working autopilot.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1087083
Time
Date	201305
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	OGG.Airport
State Reference	HI
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Caravan 208B
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	VFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Autopilot
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 180 Flight Crew Total 5700 Flight Crew Type 3800
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence Inflight Event / Encounter VFR In IMC

A C-208 instrument rated pilot got trapped by unexpected weather and an autopilot deferred inoperative enroute to ogg. In technical violation of company policy which required either an sic or an autopilot; he obtained an IFR clearance to complete the flight.