AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022 - 106

FLY WITH AOPA
ASI TIPS /
178 seconds
VFR into IMC is an insidious trap
BY MACHTELD SMITH
could declare an emergency with ATC.
Controllers trained on VFR into IMC
flight emergencies can help find better
weather to escape to.
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
VFR and instrument-rated pilots.
A classic study supported by the
AOPA Air Safety Institute determined
that a pilot will lose aircraft control in 178
seconds when flying VFR into IMC. That
doesn't provide much time to escape, so
be prepared with a 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 slightly 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-causing incapacitation 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. But this
system is unreliable when in motion, like
banking the airplane.
106
AOPA PILOT / June 2022
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 3 Ps (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 (see " Disciplinary
Action: Bail Out When You Said You
Would, " March 2022 AOPA Pilot).
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
ASI's campaign
Because every year, pilots continue to
inadvertently fly VFR into IMC, 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
AOPA Air Safety Institute's research and
analysis on this deadly phenomenon, and
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.
machteld.smith@aopa.org
airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/
AvoidEscape
airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/
VFRintoIMC
The AOPA Air Safety Institute is the
world's largest provider of free general
aviation safety content. Safety programs
are funded by generous donations to the
AOPA Foundation.
ASRS /
Search the aviation safety reporting
system (ASRS) database, view
reports, or submit a report.
asrs.arc.nasa.gov
http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/avoldescape http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/VFRintoIMC/avoldescape http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/vfrintoimc http://www.airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/vfrintoimc http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2022

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