Departure Difficulties

Too often, instrument training can focus only on approaches, those procedures at the end of a flight allowing us to find a runway and land on it. But well before we’re cleared for an approach, we have to take off, climb to altitude and get through the en route system to someplace close to our destination. Sure, approaches are sexy, but other portions of an instrument flight are just as important. Take initial climb and departure, for instance, something at which pilots routinely fail.

Key Takeaways:

• Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) departures, particularly the initial climb in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), are critically dangerous phases of flight often overlooked, leading to accidents even for experienced pilots in well-equipped aircraft.
• Common causes of these departure accidents include pilots failing to establish and maintain a positive climb rate, distraction from lack of preparation for procedures (e.g., radio changes), and an over-reliance on advanced equipment or past experience.
• Mitigation involves meticulous pre-flight and departure preparation, mastery of basic attitude instrument flying, thorough avionics setup before takeoff, disciplined use of checklists, and maintaining a sterile cockpit during the initial climb phase.

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