Flight Training - July 2022 - 13

ASI TIPS
BY MACHTELD SMITH
AN INSIDIOUS TRAP
SET PERSONAL MINIMUMS TO AVOID SCARY VFR-INTO-IMC ENCOUNTERS
PLAN B: ESCAPE VFR INTO IMC
Do you have a plan? Execute it immediately.
Generally, we are taught to conduct a
180-degree turn to better weather conditions
left behind. That could work if
making the turn before entering the clouds.
Another option could be to climb straight
ahead-no turns and a light touch on the
flight controls-until you've cleared the
clouds. This requires little head movement
to avoid experiencing spatial disorientation.
In addition, you could declare an emergency
with ATC. Controllers trained on
VFR into IMC flight emergencies can help
find better weather to escape to.
ASI'S CAMPAIGN
VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) FLIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
(IMC) is the worst weather-related cause of general aviation accidents each year-with
an 86-percent fatality rate-involving both VFR and instrument-rated pilots.
A study supported by the AOPA Air Safety Institute determined pilots lost aircraft
control in 178 seconds when flying VFR into simulated IMC. That doesn't provide
much time to escape, so be prepared with an escape plan-better yet, avoid the problem
in the first place.
TRAINING VERSUS THE REAL THING
It's important to learn recovery from unusual attitudes wearing a view limiting device,
but it's far from what you'd actually experience during a real VFR into IMC encounter.
In training, you're instantly put into an IMC scenario. But it's deteriorating weather
slowly evolving and enveloping you and your airplane that lures you into the trap.
You can quickly experience spatial disorientation-a main reason for losing aircraft
control-that often ends in an unrecoverable graveyard spiral or spin. Why? Because
without visual reference, we rely on our vestibular system to keep us oriented. This
system is unreliable when in motion, like banking the airplane.
PLAN A: AVOID VFR INTO IMC
The best antidote to a scary VFR into IMC encounter is to set personal minimums
reflecting your proficiency level and adjusting them as needed. In addition, use flight
risk assessment tools to make well-informed go/no-go decisions. If it's a go, stick to the
plan to divert or abort. Just remember the 3Ps (Perceive, Process, and Perform) and
PAVE (Pilot, Aircraft, enVironment, and External Pressure). Also, keep in mind that
deciding to " just take a look " is the beginning of being lured into the trap. Once you've
decided to go up, you may convince yourself that things will get better farther into the
flight, only to be tempted deeper into worsening weather.
Because pilots continue to inadvertently
fly VFR into IMC every year, the AOPA
Air Safety Institute decided to address this
persistent problem and created a campaign
for 2022 called VFR into IMC: Avoidance
and Escape. At the center of this campaign
is a new VFR into IMC Safety Spotlight that
includes the ASI research and analysis on
this deadly phenomenon. Based on those
finding, the spotlight provides extensive
recommendations for alternative ways to
teach VFR into IMC escape. Explore the
spotlight that will put those recommendations
in perspective.
The campaign provides widespread
education and outreach about the deadly
VFR into IMC trap. Protect yourself from
inadvertent VFR flight into IMC-one of
the top five fatal general aviation accidents.
Visit AOPA's Air Safety Institute
VFR Into IMC: Avoidance and Escape
resources to help you learn how.
airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/
AvoidEscape
machteld.smith@aopa.org
ASRS
Search the Aviation Safety Reporting
System (ASRS) database, view reports, or
submit a report.
asrs.arc.nasa.gov
FLIGHT TRAINING JULY 2022
13

http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/avoldescape http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/avoldescape http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov

Flight Training - July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - July 2022