IMC

    Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) are the most pertinent hazard for all general aviation pilots. IMC are meteorological conditions expressed in terms of visibility, distance from cloud, and ceilings less than the minima specified for visual meteorological conditions. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) essentially require good visibility and cloud clearance. The specific clearances required depend of the type of airspace and the country that you are flying in. For example, inside controlled airspace the distances are shortened. Now, why is it that over 25% of general aviation fatalities are caused by flying VFR into IMC? It comes down to training, equipment, and disorientation.

    As many are aware, there are two primary sets of flight rules, visual (VFR) and instrument (IFR). When you reach the milestone of your private pilots license (PPL), you are licensed and trained to fly under VFR. Though you may go through a small bit of training to fly your instruments and flying under the hood, you will not be qualified to do so without a trainer. So, from the start pilots without an instrument rating and the confidence with their instruments should not be attempting the feat in the first place. The next piece is the required equipment. In the US the following instruments are REQUIRED to fly IMC: a heading indicator, sensitive altimeter adjustable for barometric pressure, clock with a sweep-second pointer or digital equivalent, attitude indicator, radios and suitable avionics for the route to be flown, alternator or generator, gyroscopic rate-of-turn indicator that is either a turn coordinator or the turn and bank indicator. (Legal Information Institute) When it comes down to it, some aircraft are simply not equipped with the instruments to legally fly under IFR. 

    
    Now, when pilots know that they should NOT be flying into these situations, why do they? Giving people the benefit of the doubt, it can often be an accident or just something that takes you by surprise! What happens in a surprising number of these accidents is known as controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). When planes are not equipped with some sort of terrain avoidance technology, if the pilots become disoriented in relation to their position in space, they can fly directly into mountains, passes, or other objects. All of these reasons are just more gas on the fire as to why unqualified and unequipped pilots should stay away from IMC like the plague.


References:

Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). 14 CFR § 91.205 - powered civil aircraft with Standard Category U.S. airworthiness certificates: Instrument and equipment requirements. Legal Information Institute. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/91.205.


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