From almost Day One of our pilot training, we’re told to stay out of and 20 miles from a thunderstorm. We’re also told not to fly into instrument conditions without an appropriate rating and clearance. Yet, the accident record shows many pilots regularly ignore those admonitions. The accident record, however, doesn’t reflect the number of pilots who bend or break them and live to do it again. We’d guess that number is substantial.
Why that is so remains puzzling. No, the instrument rating isn’t free; earning it requires a commitment of time and resources. Maintaining currency is almost as time- and resource-consuming as the rating. But the benefits of having and using the instrument rating to someone who uses a personal airplane for transportation far outweigh these costs.
