Who Do You Trust?

It was a dark and stormy day...seriously. Family issues required me to get to Clark Regional Airport (KJVY) in Jeffersonville, Ind. But the prognoses for the route from Augusta Municipal Airport (3AU) outside of Wichita, Kan., predicted lines of storms scattered across the 600-odd miles.

Editorial Staff

Sunday, April 22, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A pilot flying through scattered storms was advised by an ATC controller to deviate through a "soft spot," overriding the pilot's initial visual assessment and request for a wider detour.
Following the controller's advice, which was based on surveillance radar lacking weather intensity information, the pilot flew directly into severe Level 3/4 turbulence and lightning.
The harrowing experience emphasized the crucial lesson for pilots to trust their own visual observations and judgment over external advice, even from seasoned controllers, when navigating adverse weather.

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It was a dark and stormy day…seriously. Family issues required me to get to Clark Regional Airport (KJVY) in Jeffersonville, Ind. But the prognoses for the route from Augusta Municipal Airport (3AU) outside of Wichita, Kan., predicted lines of storms scattered across the 600-odd miles.

The storms were also forecast to be widely scattered with no overcast. Instrument current and confident in my ability to see and avoid the boomers, my Comanche and I launched for the four-hour flight at about 10 a.m. Central time.