IFR In The Mountains

A cardinal rule of mountain flying is to always be mindful of places where the terrain climbs faster than the airplane, and then avoid them. This isnt exclusively a backcountry issue-you dont have to fly in the Western U.S. or in the mountains to get bitten-there are plenty of airports on the U.S. East Coast where we can run into things if we cant climb well enough or if we stray off the published route, whether IFR or VFR.

Mike Hart

Monday, May 16, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots must meticulously plan all departures to ensure terrain and obstacle clearance, utilizing published procedures (SIDs/ODPs) and carefully considering aircraft performance limitations, especially in challenging conditions like high density altitude or heavy loads.
Specific hazards requiring heightened awareness include "black holes" during night operations, power lines often found in topographical pinch points, and newly erected obstacles that necessitate checking NOTAMs and current charts.
Modern electronic flight bags (EFBs) provide invaluable access to up-to-date charts and information, making comprehensive pre-flight obstacle avoidance planning more accessible and essential for flight safety.

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A cardinal rule of mountain flying is to always be mindful of places where the terrain climbs faster than the airplane, and then avoid them. This isn’t exclusively a backcountry issue—you don’t have to fly in the Western U.S. or in the mountains to get bitten—there are plenty of airports on the U.S. East Coast where we can run into things if we can’t climb well enough or if we stray off the published route, whether IFR or VFR.

The good news is there are well-established and published procedures we can use—VFR or IFR—when failing to outclimb terrain or obstacles poses a threat. The bad news is we can’t always meet the minimum rate of climb requirements. That’s where some additional flight planning is necessary.