AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022 - 104

FLY WITH AOPA
ASI TIPS /
The invisible obscuration
Disoriented by inadvertent VFR into IMC
BY TERRIE MEAD
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 aircraft left in a standardrate
turn to reverse course. Soon the Shark
was back in smoother air and clearer skies,
tracking to the 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 using 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. As the year
ends, AOPA's Air Safety Institute (ASI)
brings its VFR into IMC campaign to a
close. However, the effort to eliminate this
deadly lure will go on within ASI's online
pages. Please look for them in the form of
Safety Spotlights, webinars, and accident
analyses. terrie.mead@aopa.org
EVEN THE MOST proficient VFR pilot can
become disoriented by inadvertent VFR
flight into instrument meteorological
conditions (IMC). Zara Rutherford, who
set a mark recognized by the Guinness
World Records, was no exception when,
on day 30 of her around-the-world
endeavor, she stumbled into dense
smoke from a lingering wildfire in northern
California. Rutherford relays the
details of her harrowing flight:
" 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
104
AOPA PILOT / December 2022
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,
the pilot is operating in IMC. It is
clear from Rutherford's brush with smoke
how a clear day can turn deadly.
The Belgian'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 had drilled into her as they
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
VFR into IMC: Avoidance and Escape
Each year, pilots make the deadly
decision to continue visually guided
flights into instrument weather
conditions-a risk to which instrumentrated
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
CHRIS ROSE
http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/ACS/vfrintoimc http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/avoidescape http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/avoidescape
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022
