Preflight Briefings

Be aware of the distinction between MSL and AGL. Cloud heights associated with airports are customarily given in AGL. But areal guidance products, area forecasts, and PIREPs, use MSL. Also, anything stated as a ceiling or carrying the CIG abbreviation is AGL. Since IFR and MVFR conditions are based upon ceiling height, centralized products will always use AGL ceilings when constructing an IFR/MVFR depiction. If there is any doubt, find the information ahead of time or talk to a briefer.

Tim Vasquez

Monday, November 19, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Weather-related general aviation (GA) accidents remain a significant safety concern, accounting for 25% of all GA accidents and 35% of fatal ones, despite a fourfold decrease in daily incidents since 1982.
Most fatal weather accidents are caused by pilots encountering low ceilings, fog, and precipitation, often due to VFR flight into IMC, poor situational awareness, and insufficient IFR training, with "benign" weather frequently harboring significant risks.
Comprehensive preflight weather briefings are crucial for building a full mental picture of flight conditions, requiring pilots to utilize diverse meteorological resources like TAFs, NWS Aviation Discussions, and specialized charts.
Given inherent limitations in weather forecasting, pilots must continuously enhance their knowledge, experience, and situational awareness to make informed decisions and extend the margin between safe flight and disaster.

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Meteorologists Andrew Fultz and Walker Ashley in 2016 undertook a comprehensive review of NTSB data and published their findings in Physical Geography. The researchers looked at almost 60,000 general aviation accidents between 1982 and 2013. They identified 25 percent of the accidents as weather-related. Out of those accidents, 26 percent were fatal. One sobering finding was that 35 percent of all fatal GA accidents are due to weather.

The 31-year period saw 3972 accidents and 8052 lives lost in GA weather accidents. In 1982 things were grim, with an average of three crashes and two fatalities per day from weather. Through efforts of flight instructors, meteorologists, the FAA, and the NTSB, we’ve seen a fourfold drop in these numbers, but still with over 200 weather accidents each year, there’s much work to be done.