B757 captain recounts the exciting events of two missed approaches to a non-radar south american air...

Narrative:

Everything was normal until close to our destination. There; we experienced strong thunderstorm activity requiring various deviations. The copilot was flying. We set up for an ILS on runway xx; the active runway. On the outbound procedure turn we experienced light turbulence to moderate chop. On final; at altitude; we had a 30 KT tailwind. At ZZZZ this is not unusual (been there hundreds of times) as the wind can change 180 degrees in as little as 1;000 ft. The surface winds were still being reported down the runway. Also; the visibility was decent and we could see the windsock which appeared to favor runway xx. We briefed and prepared for the expected (and common) wind shift and continued the approach. Nearing the final stages of the approach; we experienced an even stronger tailwind of more than 50 KTS and elected to go-around. When go-around power was added; the left engine did not respond. In other words; we executed a single engine go-around. Well into the climb; the engine came back up. I (we) have no idea why this happened but we were sure happy. The tower then told us to fly the arc to set up for VOR runway xy. Reported surface winds now favored runway xy and were well within our limits. We set ourselves up for the approach. No radar in ZZZZ1; so we flew the arc. We were in and out of rain and moderate turbulence. The approach went normal but the storms were quickly approaching the field. Nearing MDA; we experienced heavy rain with little visibility. Unable to see at MDA we executed another missed approach. Not being able to fly the published due to severe weather; we turned left. At that time we decided to go to our alternate. Into the climb we once again experienced severe weather. But this time was an extreme microburst. Fortunately; we did have a little altitude in our favor. I (we) would rate it as bad as or worse than anything we've ever seen in a simulator. Copilot (pilot still flying) went maximum power and tried to hold a constant pitch. And that was all any of us could do. I have no memory of any airspeed or altitude fluctuations as all of us were using all of our resources just trying to keep the airplane upright. After what seemed to be a very long time; we got out of the microburst. I knew that we were low on fuel due to 2 go-arounds and maximum power being used for several minutes. Looked up at the fuel gauges and they were blank! They had failed in the microburst. Not really knowing how much fuel we had; we declared an emergency and diverted to ZZZZ2. The fuel gauges later started working but ZZZZ2 was the right decision. We landed at ZZZZ2 without incident but the low fuel lights were on. Logbook write-ups were made for go-around power (information to maintenance; 2 write-ups). Additionally; severe turbulence and maximum power used for 4 minutes were entered. The people at ZZZZ2 were very helpful and friendly. Our ZZZZ1 personnel helped the best that they could. But the lack of communications and lack of support with the operational end of this company were pathetic!

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 Captain recounts the exciting events of two missed approaches to a non-radar South American airport; with equipment malfunctions and microburst encounters. Crew declared an emergency and diverted to their alternate; landing with low fuel lights on.

Narrative: Everything was normal until close to our destination. There; we experienced strong thunderstorm activity requiring various deviations. The Copilot was flying. We set up for an ILS on Runway XX; the active runway. On the outbound procedure turn we experienced light turbulence to moderate chop. On final; at altitude; we had a 30 KT tailwind. At ZZZZ this is not unusual (been there hundreds of times) as the wind can change 180 degrees in as little as 1;000 FT. The surface winds were still being reported down the runway. Also; the visibility was decent and we could see the windsock which appeared to favor Runway XX. We briefed and prepared for the expected (and common) wind shift and continued the approach. Nearing the final stages of the approach; we experienced an even stronger tailwind of more than 50 KTS and elected to go-around. When go-around power was added; the left engine did not respond. In other words; we executed a single engine go-around. Well into the climb; the engine came back up. I (we) have no idea why this happened but we were sure happy. The Tower then told us to fly the arc to set up for VOR Runway XY. Reported surface winds now favored Runway XY and were well within our limits. We set ourselves up for the approach. No radar in ZZZZ1; so we flew the arc. We were in and out of rain and moderate turbulence. The approach went normal but the storms were quickly approaching the field. Nearing MDA; we experienced heavy rain with little visibility. Unable to see at MDA we executed another missed approach. Not being able to fly the published due to severe weather; we turned left. At that time we decided to go to our alternate. Into the climb we once again experienced severe weather. But this time was an extreme microburst. Fortunately; we did have a little altitude in our favor. I (we) would rate it as bad as or worse than anything we've ever seen in a simulator. Copilot (pilot still flying) went maximum power and tried to hold a constant pitch. And that was all any of us could do. I have no memory of any airspeed or altitude fluctuations as all of us were using all of our resources just trying to keep the airplane upright. After what seemed to be a very long time; we got out of the microburst. I knew that we were low on fuel due to 2 go-arounds and maximum power being used for several minutes. Looked up at the fuel gauges and they were blank! They had failed in the microburst. Not really knowing how much fuel we had; we declared an emergency and diverted to ZZZZ2. The fuel gauges later started working but ZZZZ2 was the right decision. We landed at ZZZZ2 without incident but the low fuel lights were on. Logbook write-ups were made for go-around power (information to maintenance; 2 write-ups). Additionally; severe turbulence and maximum power used for 4 minutes were entered. The people at ZZZZ2 were very helpful and friendly. Our ZZZZ1 personnel helped the best that they could. But the lack of communications and lack of support with the operational end of this company were pathetic!

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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	830610
Time
Date	200904
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Landing
Route In Use	Other Instrument Precision
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Flight Engineer Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 240 Flight Crew Total 17000 Flight Crew Type 7000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Inflight Event / Encounter Unstabilized Approach Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

B757 captain recounts the exciting events of two missed approaches to a non-radar south american airport; with equipment malfunctions and microburst encounters. Crew declared an emergency and diverted to their alternate; landing with low fuel lights on.