IFR Fix: Five reasons to get seriously current

Here’s a better idea—for instrument-rated pilots and those returning to IFR training. As sharp as you may feel for taking on meteorological mayhem on a reductionist recurrency regimen, pilots keep encountering a staggering assortment of sketchy scenarios that could have been avoided by rushing less and training more.

• When all else fails, read the instructions: In the excitement of the first time solo under IFR, a new instrument pilot irked air traffic control by deviating from a published departure procedure. After the flight, the confused pilot sought counsel from an instructor, who “chuckled and told me the turning maneuver I had chosen was the lost communications procedure,” the pilot recounted in an Aviation Safety Reporting System filing.
• VFR and IFR are different rules—right? Clouds got in the way for a noncurrent pilot of a Beechcraft Bonanza after departing a towered airport under special VFR. “I descended to about 300 ft msl over the water before deciding that the only safe option was to climb. I climbed to about 2,500 ft msl, breaking out on top of the marine layer about 2,000 ft MSL.” Unfortunately, the flight “briefly” penetrated Class E airspace without a clearance, the pilot reported to ASRS.
• Long day’s (IFR) journey into (VFR at) night: At the end of a cross-country instrument training flight, a Cessna 210 pilot was cleared for a visual approach after reporting a hard-to-spot urban airport in sight. But it wasn’t—and the sinking Centurion triggered a low-altitude alert. The pilot attributed the error partly to fatigue and partly to transitioning from instruments to visual flight.
• Separation anxiety: An instrument instructor and pilot who were squeezing in one final flight before the pilot's instrument-rating practical test "flew for 90 minutes and landed and parked before we noticed the tow bar was still attached."
• There’s an SFAR? Even if you are comfortable navigating the complicated regulation that determines instrument recency-of-experience rules, better study the special federal aviation regulation that took effect during the coronavirus pandemic. We created a flowchart to help you determine applicability. Check back soon, because we also asked the FAA to extend provisions that expire June 30.