CFIT on Departure

Pilot responsibilities differ from a controllers. The regs state, the pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft. This authority and responsibility is granted with the intention that its used to ensure safety-a pilots primary obligation. Yet, pilots keep having controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents, often with fatalities. Its the second leading cause of commercial aviation fatalities worldwide. NTSB Board Member Robert Sumwalt described CFIT as the problem that never went away. CFIT frequently occurs at night or in IMC.

Key Takeaways:

• Pilots hold final responsibility for obstacle clearance during departures, even when ATC issues heading instructions, as ATC's primary role is traffic flow, not necessarily terrain separation below certain altitudes.
• Blindly following an ATC-assigned departure heading can lead to Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) if it conflicts with published Obstacle Departure Procedures (ODPs) or Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs), or exceeds aircraft performance.
• ATC assumes obstacle clearance responsibility only after radar contact and often above Minimum Vectoring Altitudes (MVA), unless a specific Diverse Vector Area (DVA) is established for which pilots must still check performance requirements.
• Pilots must actively evaluate ATC departure vectors against their aircraft's performance and published procedures, being ready to decline unsafe instructions for "operational necessity."

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