4. What is IIMC
• Inadvertent entry into IMC (IIMC) is a situation
where deteriorating weather prevents you from
flying under visual meteorological conditions
when you were planning to fly under VFR.
• IIMC can also be stated as loss of horizon
references and/or an accompanying loss of visual
contact with the ground.
5. Dangers
• NTSB 2011: 45 of the 52 IIMC accidents occurring
that year were fatal
• 86% giving you a 14% survivability rate
• University of Illinois: IIMC by pilots with NO
instrument training = avg 178 seconds till loss of
control
• Spatial Disorientation
• CFIT
• Brown Out or White Out
6. Contributing Factors
• Improper Judgment
• Overconfidence
• Pressure on the Pilot
• Decision Making
• Poor pre-flight preparation
• Night or mountainous terrain
• Expectation of Success
7. • Visual
• 90% of our spatial orientation is derived from visual inputs
• Vestibular & Proprioceptive
• No amount of training or practice
can allow us to correctly interpret
erroneous vestibular sensations!!!
Spatial Disorientation
9. How to Avoid IIMC
• Avoid flight in Marginal VFR (MVFR).
• Use planned Enroute Decision Points (EDP)s.
• Recognize signs of deteriorating weather,
• Wx charts, forecasts, local wx trends
• In-flight weather abort procedures
• Know your terrain
• Assess the situation: If signs back up the warnings,
decide to land or turn around before you go IIMC.
10. Immediate Actions - 4 C’s
• Control
• Fly the aircraft
• Climb
• Terrain
• Course
• Diversion airfield? Be careful of the 180° turn
• Communicate
• ATC: Tell them your situation and need for help.
• Comply with instructions
• Don’t fear repercussions
11. Practice
• Discuss how these encounters happen in the real
world
• IIMC foggles training
• Think 4 C’s
• Think CFIT
• Leave EGO out if it
12. SUMMARY
• Pilot Decision Making (PDM) is a defence against:
• Overestimating Skill
• Pushing a/c beyond limits
• Underestimating the environment/weather
• Avoiding IIMC is the priority
• Remember your Immediate Actions
• If there is doubt, there is NO doubt: DON’T GO
• Fly Prepared, Fly Safe
Improper Judgment: Not being able to judge whether pilot is near IMC
Overconfidence: statistical sampling of pilots reveals most pilots think they possess greater flying skill, are less likely to take risks in flight, and are less likely than their peers to experience an accident. Most VFR pilots believe they are less likely than others to experience a VFR-into-IMC accident and believe they are more capable than others at avoiding and successfully flying out of IMC.
Pressure on the Pilot: Bosses, money, job security, passengers?
Decision Making: Imagine -> 100% chance of R80 loss (Land now/Divert now/Delay or cancel flight = loss of revenue, cost increases, impact on contract), or 80% chance of R100 loss (Small chance of making it through, but a high chance of losing it all, of crashing and dying)
Poor pre-flight preparation: Many examples of pilots who failed to get any sort of official weather briefing before departing
Night or mountainous terrain: Reduced visual references, smaller margin for error, must be properly trained
Expectation of Success: Pilots take off without a back-up plan, automatically assuming they'll successfully complete the flight. Without a Plan B, they have no other course, literally, other than to continue on, developing a kind of tunnel vision that seems to lock up the brain as conditions deteriorate. It’s like driving a car with the fuel on E often … you get used to pushing the envelope
Vestibular system: the sensory system that provides the leading contribution about movement and sense of balance
Proprioceptors in skeletal striated muscles and in joints, the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement
Control: Fly the aircraft. Refocus the scan inside the cockpit to the primary flight instruments – airspeed, altitude, and attitude
Climb: As soon as the aircraft is under control by reference to the instruments, a controlled climb should be initiated. Inadvertent IMC encounters often occur at low altitudes where rising terrain poses a serious threat. The pilot should initiate a straight ahead controlled climb to an altitude that will provide obstruction clearance in the area of operation. Always review Maximum Elevation Figures (MEF) on VFR charts prior to departure.
Course: After the aircraft is in a controlled climb, the pilot can elect to turn to a new heading if known obstacles are ahead and/or divert to a different location with better known or forecast weather conditions.
Communicate: After the pilot has control of the aircraft, initiated a climb, and on course, they should communicate with ATC regarding their intentions and need for assistance. Careful preflight planning will allow a pilot to focus their attention on maintaining control of the aircraft and reduce the distraction of having to formulate a complete plan in the midst of a dangerous situation. Pilots must be prepared to deal with (recognize & accept) such inadvertent IMC encounters whenever they occur in a reliably disciplined and practiced manner