There but for the grace of.......
I did a fair amount of IFR along the Gulf Coast, including shooting the ILS into KNEW (and Brazoria) to minimums. For someone that doesn't have a lot of experience with low-level ground fog & the way it sets in, something like this is a real opportunity to learn. (Like mountain flying, there is regional knowledge that one gains through training & experience). Likewise the route-around all of the Houston Class Bravo airspace.... unless familiar, one won't expect that (I used to fly from KSSF to Sugarland regularly - the routing and timing out of SGR depended on traffic arriving/departing the big airports as you would be "weaved" through the traffic on the STARS.... typical route from SGR to San Antonio was the Industry departure).
I would have been cautious about the lowering ceilings at Pearland, but a 400' ceiling would probably not have stopped me if I had the expectation of a fairly direct routing. (I've also got a faster plane). Note the condition I placed on that. The routing she got would have been a different matter (if you knew that in advance or expected it). Sounds like it was a "radar vectors" clearance.... yes, she should have spoken up. She won't do that again. Usually, if you go further inland along the gulf coast the ceilings will improve. Not always, but usually. Marine layer and all that.
I learned the lesson one night out practicing instrument approaches. I shot the ILS up at San Marcus & realized the visibility was dropping more than expected. I requested an amended clearance back to SSF, noting that the reported ceilings were dropping a bit. Got SSF in-sight & asked for the visual. I could see the airport and runways clearly - when I contacted tower, they wanted to send me back to approach for a full approach as tower was claiming visibilities below VFR mins (I could still clearly see the runway). I asked for contact approach, it was granted. As I dropped below 200' on final, the visibility vanished - before I could push the power lever up, I was below the very thin layer (25-50' thick) with great visibility of the entire runway, and landed. By the time I taxiied to the hangar, the fog had settled in and the horizontal visibility was below 500' as I was leaving the airport by car. I was home 20-ish minutes later and by that time SAT was Cat II. Oh, the reports were also showing tops at about 1000' - marine layer, ground fog, whatever you want to call it.
San Marcos to Stinson is in the same ballpark distance-wise as Pearland to Hooks. I was given direct. Stinson is also south of San Marcos, so I was flying more toward the coast, meaning it would probably drop faster than San Marcos.
Lots of lessons learned from the experience. Biggest takeaway is to monitor temp/dewpoint spread, speak up to controllers, and be alert to conditions. Weather on-board helps, BUT the update cycle is slow enough that it may well not show dropping ceilings - onboard weather is more focused on radar.
Glad she got down safely. She learned something about flying near the gulf. She was smart enough to file CLL as the alternate (further inland) but fuel would have been an issue given her actual routing.
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