by Dean Zakos
© Copyright Dean Zakos 2024. All Rights Reserved!
Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2024 Digital Issue!
“Learn from the mistakes of others.
You won’t live long enough to make all of them yourself.” – An Anonymous Pilot
If ever presented with a choice between living and dying, any sane pilot would choose to live. Yet, many pilots, when confronted with these two stark alternatives, make the wrong decision. How can that be? It happens because, at the time the choices are initially presented, one outcome is not clear. But it should be.
With foresight, thoughtful planning, and good judgment, you can eliminate or mitigate some risks prior to departure and make your flying safer.
The host of a popular YouTube general aviation channel repeatedly emphasizes to his audience four real-world conditions less experienced, lower-time general aviation pilots encounter, often intentionally or without adequate planning, that frequently take their lives.
What are these conditions?
Night
A Piper Cherokee Six was operated by a low-time non-instrument rated pilot. It was a night departure over water. Visibility was 10 miles. The moon had not yet risen. The aircraft’s track after takeoff quickly became erratic, culminating in a spiral turn to the right, a rapid descent, and a fatal crash into the ocean. The aircraft was two-and-a-half miles from the departure end of the runway.
IMC
The 300-hour non-instrument-rated pilot and his passenger departed under visual flight rules (VFR) in a Beech Sundowner and entered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) after weather conditions degraded. The pilot pressed on, resulting in flying erratically in the soup, with several large heading and altitude excursions. He called “Mayday” and reported issues with his primary instruments. With no instrument rating, the pilot quickly succumbed to spatial disorientation, killing himself, his passenger, and destroying the airplane.
Terrain
A VFR-only pilot commenced a flight in a Cessna Skyhawk in marginal VFR conditions. The route of the flight would take her over uneven, rising terrain. The ceiling was approximately 1,000 feet AGL at departure. The aircraft was observed flying just under the cloud base. As the flight progressed, the clouds started to come down. Visibility also started to deteriorate. The highest terrain along or immediately adjacent to the route was shown as 1,048 feet MSL. The aircraft struck trees near the summit of a hill at an elevation of approximately 940 feet MSL and came to rest in a field. The pilot received fatal injuries.
Ice
A Cessna 206 was not equipped with any form of airframe ice protection. Instrument conditions prevailed. A center weather advisory and AIRMETs for the accident site and surrounding area advertised freezing rain, freezing drizzle, and light snow along with moderate or greater icing conditions. The instrument-rated pilot attempted to make the flight. The pilot was fatally injured in the crash. The aircraft wreckage still retained several inches of ice when first responders arrived.
As the host of the YouTube channel sensibly advises, “Night. IMC. Terrain. Ice. – Pick one.” And, by clear implication, the one you choose should be within your capabilities, your airplane’s capabilities, and consistent with your total hours, certificate, experience, currency, and proficiency.
Some low-time, less experienced pilots manage to select all four conditions for a single flight – with predictably fatal results. It is often difficult to manage the risk of any one of these four conditions. Challenging a lower-time pilot with one, two, three, or four at once likely seals the pilot’s (and any passengers’) fate.
Piling on risks in a flight is similar to the concept of “compound interest” in the financial world. Compound interest is interest accumulated from a principal sum and previously accumulated interest. In other words, interest on top of interest. In finance, compounding interest is good. In flying, compounding risks is bad. That is why it is so important, long before “wheels up,” to identify any potential risk, recognize if multiple risks exist, objectively weigh them, determine if there are mitigating strategies that can be employed, and realistically assess your own skills, experience, and the capabilities of your aircraft.
Unselecting risks by staying on the ground can keep you alive.
Night
Night flying presents a series of challenges, most having to do with your vision and perception. As you gain hours and experience, you gradually obtain the skills necessary to work through these challenges. However, until familiarity is acquired, the risks are real and serious. Because it is harder to see at night, more preparation is needed prior to the flight.
If you have few logged hours at night, or lack night currency or proficiency, do you really have to make a night flight? Can you defer the flight until daylight or ask an instructor or a more night-experienced or IFR-rated pilot to accompany you on the flight?
Before you fly at night, there are some simple steps you can take to ensure a safe flight: 1) Re-familiarize yourself with night flying illusions; 2) Plan your flight for a higher cruise altitude; 3) Choose a route that stays well above terrain and closer to airports; and 4) Review the FAA’s Practical Risk Management for Night VFR Flying.
The best instructor is experience. If you have few night hours in your logbook, make the effort to add more, ideally with an instructor or a more experienced pilot in the right seat.
If you are departing from an unfamiliar airport at night, check to see if there are Obstacle Departure Procedures (“ODPs”) for any of the runways. ODPs are prescribed headings and altitudes to fly when taking off. They provide a safe means to depart an airport in IMC when there are obstructions or terrain within the vicinity of the airport. VFR and IFR-rated pilots can take advantage of these same ODPs when departing in VFR conditions at night.
If there are no ODPs, familiarize yourself with the surrounding terrain using a sectional chart, an aerial photo of the airport, or Google Earth. Know and understand the best headings and altitudes to fly prior to departure. The local FBO and local pilots may be able to assist you.
When attempting to land at night, pilots can and do take advantage of visual aids, such as PAPIs and VASIs. In addition, even if you are not IFR-rated, with a little instruction and experience, you can (if available) tune the appropriate frequency for an ILS localizer and glideslope or load and activate a GPS-RNAV approach for the active runway and use the horizontal and vertical course guidance to assist you to remain on centerline and glidepath in night VFR conditions.
IMC
VFR flight into IMC has historically been fatal to many GA pilots. The statistics are conclusive – and grim. One study showed, if you are a VFR-rated pilot, you have 178 seconds after entering IMC before you lose control of your aircraft.
Avoiding this risk starts with a thorough understanding of the weather conditions, including at the departure airport, along the planned route, and at the arrival airport. The weather picture presents the classic “Go/No Go” decision. With few hours and little experience, and no instrument rating, the wise pilot chooses “No Go” if the weather is not forecast good VFR for the entire trip.
What if the trip started in VFR conditions and IMC that were not forecast are encountered in flight? The best course is a 180-degree turn back to VFR weather. With the myriad of weather products available now to pilots in the cockpit, such as ADS-B In, Nexrad, Foreflight, etc., pilots should have a much better picture of developing weather in the air and, if IMC is encountered, the ability to review in almost real time where the VFR weather and closest VFR airports are located.
If IMC is encountered, do not press on hoping for the best. Hope is not a strategy. If your aircraft has an autopilot, and you know how to use it (and you should), engage it to hold heading and altitude, and then allow “George” to turn the airplane and keep it level for you. Many VFR-only pilots wrongly believed that they could “see” through the clouds, or they could “sense” the motion and attitude of the aircraft, or they could descend and safely fly under the cloud base. These false hopes are buried with them.
Long term, if you are a VFR pilot, your plan should be to acquire an instrument rating. The rating is no guarantee of your personal safety, but it clearly provides you with knowledge, skills, and experience you were lacking as a VFR pilot. The rating may shift some odds in your favor, and it may help you mitigate some risks. However, instrument-rated pilots are not immune from accidents and incidents. As the old saying goes, “A pilot does not fly an airplane with his hands and feet… he flies it with his brain.” Never stop thinking about risks and how to manage them.
Terrain
Two keys for successfully navigating terrain are (1) planning and (2) maintaining situational awareness.
Planning starts with the route you intend to fly. Is the terrain relatively flat, over water, hilly, or mountainous? What is the maximum elevation of each sector you will fly over along the route? What is the highest obstruction in each sector you could encounter? This information will assist you to determine the best altitudes to fly at. Also helpful are the Minimum Obstruction Clearance Altitudes (MOCAs) found on IFR low altitude enroute charts. Given the capabilities of the airplane and weather conditions, can your airplane maintain the altitude(s) necessary for the flight? Foreflight, Garmin Pilot, or your GPS can also be of significant assistance as they can show you a graphic profile of your selected route and altitude over the terrain for the entire flight. With this information, you can determine the minimum acceptable altitude for each segment prior to departure that you must fly to avoid terrain.
You will also want to review carefully the destination airport and the terrain surrounding the airport. This is particularly important if your arrival is at night or in marginal VFR conditions. Knowing in advance where the mountains, hills, and obstructions are in relation to the runway(s) in use, prior to attempting an approach and landing, may allow you to avoid what you cannot easily see, and live to fly another day.
Once in the air, a pilot must always maintain “situational awareness.” Where am I? What is my altitude? What is the highest terrain or obstruction in front of me? How low can I safely go? Do I have sufficient distance above me to any cloud base, and do I have sufficient space below me and the terrain?
As the clouds come down, and the terrain rises up, and/or visibility deteriorates, some VFR pilots, without much thought (but with increasing anxiety), will choose to continue the flight. This is “scud running.” Bad idea. If you have planned the flight, and have pre-determined a minimum acceptable altitude to fly, reaching or busting that minimum should be a huge red flag. You cannot simply continue. You must act.
What can you do? Know where the airports are along your route and land at the closest one. If you choose to follow a highway, fly directly over the right lane, as there may be another unfortunate pilot caught in the same circumstances traveling in the opposite direction. Keep the aircraft trimmed correctly. Even small deviations in altitude close to the ground can be deadly. Be aware of tower guy-lines, power lines, and telephone wires strung across valleys, rivers, roads, and highways. If you do not see them, they can snag you in a flash. If out of options, and visibility and terrain permit, the urgency of the situation may require an emergency landing off airport.
Ice
Ice is the easiest condition to eliminate when planning a flight. If your aircraft does not have anti-ice or de-ice capabilities, and icing conditions are forecast, i.e., an AIRMET ZULU or PIREPS indicate icing along your route and altitude, you simply do not make the trip. Put your airplane away, go home if you can or, if away from home, rent a hotel room for the night, have a nice dinner, and continue when the conditions improve.
If you are flying and in visible moisture, i.e., clouds, fog, rain, or snow, and the temperature is below freezing, be aware of the high probability of ice forming. Pay particular attention at frequent intervals to leading edges of wings, wing struts, corners of windows, and items jutting into the slipstream such as temperature probes and pitot tubes. Ice will start to form in these places first. If ice is inadvertently encountered while in the air, take immediate action.
If you see ice on your airplane, make sure pitot heat and windshield defrost are on. Be prepared to use alternate air and static sources, if necessary.
Most VFR pilots have little training or experience in flying in ice. Some experts advocate a climb to get out of ice, but there can be problems choosing this course of action. The warmer air may be above you, but if you climb into solid overcast and you are not instrument rated, you could lose control of your aircraft. If you are forced to make a long, slow climb, you may continue to encounter icing conditions, which could very quickly load your aircraft up. Also, studies have shown that when a wing and tail start icing at a higher angle of attack, greater amounts of ice accumulate.
Best decision – monitor airspeed, add power if necessary, and if you know it is clear behind you, make a 180-degree turn back to where there was no ice. Contact ATC. Simultaneously descend as altitude and terrain permit.
Of course, many pilots safely and routinely fly at night, in IMC, over inhospitable terrain, and in ice. The airlines, Part 135 air carriers, corporate flight departments, the military, and well-experienced, IFR-rated GA pilots in capable aircraft, do it every day. But, can you do it and, more importantly, should you do it?
In view of the risks presented, your ability to realistically self-assess your proficiency at all times is critical.
In the GA world, there is never a compelling reason to take on known serious risks such as night, IMC, inhospitable terrain, or ice if you are not proficient or your aircraft is not capable. Birthdays, job responsibilities, vacations, anniversaries, graduations, sporting events, or family gatherings are not worth your life and the lives of any passengers who may accompany you.
When planning a flight, unselect all risks that are not appropriate for your hours, your certificate, your experience, your proficiency, and your airplane. The right decisions today will allow you to enjoy many tomorrows.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dean Zakos (Private Pilot ASEL, Instrument) of Madison, Wisconsin, is the author of “Laughing with the Wind, Practical Advice and Personal Stories from a General Aviation Pilot.” Mr. Zakos has also written numerous short stories and flying articles for Midwest Flyer Magazine and other aviation publications.
DISCLAIMER: Mr. Zakos’ articles involve creative writing, and therefore the information presented may be fictional in nature, and should not be used for flight, or misconstrued as instructional material. Readers are urged to always consult with their personal flight instructor and others about anything discussed herein.
