Pitot/Static Problems

Ryan Motte

Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 05:45 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The article emphasizes the critical importance of trusting flight instruments, particularly pitot/static systems, to overcome disorientation in IMC and accurately interpret readings, as human senses can be highly misleading.
It details how pitot/static instruments can fail or provide erroneous information due to blockages, environmental factors (like pressure or temperature changes), and incorrect altimeter settings, leading to hazardous situations such as traffic or terrain avoidance issues.
Effective risk mitigation involves a practiced instrument scan for early detection, thorough pre-flight checks, proper altimeter management, utilizing backup systems (e.g., GPS, EFBs), and understanding aircraft-specific procedures for failures and cold weather operations.

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I will never forget my first time in true IMC. It was about halfway through my instrument training, during the winter months of New England. There were always challenges getting actual IMC experience; most of the quality clouds contained icing that prohibited any safe training.

Finally, it was a warm day with the freezing levels up above 10,000 feet. My instructor provided the typical advice: “Trust your instruments.” I knew IMC could be disorienting, but I was pretty confident. After all, I was deep into instrument training. Being under the hood was no problem.