A DHC8-100's weather radar failed in flight so the crew returned to the departure airport because th...

Narrative:

After departure; while climbing through 4;000 ft; we noticed weather radar was not showing known rain showers at our 12 o'clock position. ATC asked which way we would like to deviate. We chose to deviate to the southeast and entered into IMC conditions. We checked the circuit breakers and worked with the radar; turning it off and on; without success. We then decided to return to the departure airport. We observed; visually; rain showers that the radar would not paint. Once we determined the radar was not working and convective activity was in the area; we elected to return to the departure airport. We called operations; informed them; and asked them to notify our dispatcher. I then called the flight attendant and told her of our return [and] then I made a PA to the passengers. ATC turned us to the south at which point we exited the clouds and remained VMC. ATC vectored us for a visual.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A DHC8-100's weather radar failed in flight so the crew returned to the departure airport because they could see rain and a convective Sigmet was in effect for their route of flight.

Narrative: After departure; while climbing through 4;000 FT; we noticed weather radar was not showing known rain showers at our 12 o'clock position. ATC asked which way we would like to deviate. We chose to deviate to the southeast and entered into IMC conditions. We checked the circuit breakers and worked with the radar; turning it off and on; without success. We then decided to return to the departure airport. We observed; visually; rain showers that the radar would not paint. Once we determined the radar was not working and convective activity was in the area; we elected to return to the departure airport. We called Operations; informed them; and asked them to notify our Dispatcher. I then called the Flight Attendant and told her of our return [and] then I made a PA to the passengers. ATC turned us to the south at which point we exited the clouds and remained VMC. ATC vectored us for a visual.

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	949315
Time
Date	201105
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Dash 8-100
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Weather Radar
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

A DHC8-100's weather radar failed in flight so the crew returned to the departure airport because they could see rain and a convective sigmet was in effect for their route of flight.