Flight Training - January/February 2023 - 13

ASI TIPS
BY TERRIE MEAD
VFR INTO IMC
THE INVISIBLE OBSCURATION
standard rate-turn opposite her current
position. Soon the Shark was back in
smoother air and clearer skies, tracking to
Redding airport.
A 2022 study linked VFR into IMC
accidents to poor decision-making and
distraction. Its researchers suggest progress
is possible with recurrent training in
IMC awareness, specifically simulators to
reproduce loss of visual reference. Over
time, continual emphasis may reduce the
lethality of its occurrence.
Continued VFR flight into IMC is
the fifth leading cause of noncommercial
general aviation accidents and the top
weather-related pilot fatality. AOPA's Air
Safety Institute has brought its 2022 VFR
into IMC education campaign to a close.
However, the effort to eliminate this deadly
lure goes on within ASI's online pages.
EVEN THE MOST PROFICIENT VFR PILOT CAN BECOME DISORIENTED BY INADVERTENT
VFR flight into IMC (instrument meteorological conditions). Zara Rutherford, a
current Guinness World Record holder, was no exception when, on day 30 of her
audacious around-the-world endeavor, she stumbled into dense smoke from a lingering
wildfire in northern California.
" I was flying north from Palo Alto to Seattle. I was aware there were some thunderstorms
in northern California, north of Redding, but I was hoping that I could fly
along and stay above the smoke. The smoke started building up and up and up, and I
was trying to stay above the layer.
" Then it got to the point where, because the angle of the sun was hitting the
smoke, I couldn't see the ground from my left side anymore, but I could see it from
the right side. Then, soon, I just couldn't see the ground at all, and it got just...everything
was a brownish, orangish color.
" Then the turbulence got really bad, really quickly. I'm still not sure if that was a
result of the wildfires or just a gust of wind. I don't know what it was. Suddenly,
it just got really, really bumpy, and that's when I decided to turn around and land
in Redding. "
Instrument meteorological conditions are recognizable by the quality of the
atmosphere encountered. Whatever phase of flight, whatever the cause, if the pilot's
visual cues (visibility, ceiling, and cloud clearance) drop below VFR minimums, they
are operating in IMC. It is clear from Rutherford's brush with smoke how a clear day
can turn deadly.
The pilot's instincts were right. As smoke enveloped her Shark Aero and the ability
to maintain visual contact with her surroundings diminished, the 19-year-old took
the appropriate actions.
It was a simple plan, one her flight instructor drilled into her as they prepared
for her solo circumnavigation. Rutherford's focus shifted from outside the cockpit
to scanning her flight instruments. She noted her heading and altitude, checked her
ADS-B display for air traffic, then banked the high-performance aircraft left in a
terrie.mead@aopa.org. The AOPA Air Safety
Institute is the safety arm of the association.
ASI produces free programs to help all pilots
fly safer. From groundbreaking online courses
and videos to popular live seminars, ASI is the
leader in aviation safety education.
airsafetyinstitute.org
NEW FROM ASI
ACCIDENT CASE STUDY:
VFR INTO IMC
When the briefer, followed by an
air traffic controller while en route,
cautions the VFR-only pilot that
" VFR is not recommended, " he
shrugs off their warnings leading to
a tragic end. This compelling video
from ASI's Accident Case Study
series explores the temptation of
continued VFR into IMC.
airsafetyinstitute.org/ACS/
vfrintoimc
Each year, pilots make the deadly
decision to continue VFR into IMC-
a risk to which instrument-rated
pilots are not immune. Follow the
link to access the comprehensive
efforts by the AOPA Air Safety
Institute to tackle this ongoing issue.
airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/
AvoidEscape
FLIGHT TRAINING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023
13
CHRIS ROSE

http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/ACS/vfintoimc http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/ACS/vfintoimc http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/AvoidEscape http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/AvoidEscape

Flight Training - January/February 2023

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