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4 Answers

Flying in IMC

Asked by: 4676 views General Aviation, Private Pilot, Weather

Inadvertent flight into IMC is a major cause of accidents. I wonder why is it so deadly? Assuming that my airspeed indicator and artificial horizon both work, it shouldn't be so hard to at least maintain straight and level flight without much trouble. During my training under the hood and in a simulator I was able to control flight parameters pretty well and I wasn't feeling disoriented at all.

I understand that there are other related factors, i.e. ice and turbulence.

4 Answers



  1. jeff on Jan 20, 2015

    There is a HUGE difference between under the hood with an instructor next to you and actual IMC. I would strongly suggest that you find an instrument instructor and go do some dual in actual IMC and you will see. Single Pilot IFR is one of the most demanding things a pilit can do. Controlling the plane, talking to. aTC, writing down clearances, programming nav equipment even with a little bit of turbulance is a task that requires practice and experience. There is a reason that inadvertqnt IMC carries a 30-69 sec life span and is one of the most common causes of fatal GA accidents.

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  2. Mark Kolber on Jan 20, 2015

    Are you making the mistake of equating:

    (1) A series of flights with a CFI involving very basic non-sustainable maneuvering by instrument reference (there’s a reason the FAA doesn’t call it “instrument training”) in a controlled environment at or near the top of your performance in anticipation of a checkride, where you know that you can remove the hood and all is well.

    with

    (2) Being all alone in an unexpected encounter with no easily seen means of escape, with your last hood time having been 5 minutes during your last flight review (maybe).

    Story: some years ago I gave a pilot friend his first flight review after earning his private certificate. Planned to do a few basic hood maneuvers and unusual attitudes. I didn’t have to set up any unusual attitudes; he lost control within a minute of putting on the hood. After that he decided to get his instrument training and became a competent instrument pilot.

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  3. John D Collins on Jan 20, 2015

    So your body tells you unequivocally that you are in a climbing left turn, but the attitude indicator shows you are in a descending right turn. Your intellect tells you to follow the guidance shown on the attitude indicator, but that body of yours will not be denied, after all it has been informing you of up and down, left and right since you were a toddler.

    Without training, you probably have less than a minute or two to live. I suspect that the vast majority who died held a similar view to yours before their unexpected and last encounter with inadvertent IMC. Turbulence and unexpected forces on your sense of balance can be overpowering.

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  4. Bob Watson on Jan 22, 2015

    Honestly, if you enter a cloud while trimmed for straight and level flight, you’ll continue in straight and level flight…until you:

    a) realize you need to make a level, 180-degree turn to get back out of the cloud you just flew into
    b) drop your pen and reach down to get it
    c) turn around to tell the airsick passenger behind you, you’ll be landing soon,
    d) tune the radio
    e) wonder why it’s taking longer to get out than it did to get in (it didn’t, really, but it will seem like it)
    f) hit a spot of turbulence while in the cloud
    g) do any number of other things that disturb your delicate equilibrium

    And then things will go from bad to worse faster than you can imagine.

    It sounds like you’ve done the basic orientation flight required for a PPL, which is good, but not something you’d want to generalize too far.

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