Know When To Fold ‘Em

A brand-new instrument pilot turns down a short ferry flight in the middle of a snow storm for reasons.

Aviation Safety

Wednesday, January 22, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: Omar Filipovic

Key Takeaways:

The author, an instrument-rated pilot, opted not to fly a short, familiar route in technically VFR but snowy and dark conditions due to an unexplainable personal discomfort and unease.
This decision highlights that a pilot's subjective intuition or feeling of not wanting to fly under specific circumstances is a valid and important reason to cancel a flight, even when objective conditions might seem permissible.
The experience reinforces the safety principle that "It's better to be on the ground wishing we were in the air than it is to be in the air wishing we were on the ground," prioritizing personal comfort and safety judgment.

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Long ago and far away, I helped manage a four-plane flying club with its airplanes scattered around the major and minor airports surrounding our metropolitan area. It was winter, and we needed to move the club’s Piper Archer from Big City International to Suburban Regional for maintenance. Another club member and I met at the airplane.

I had a fresh instrument rating, which I earned flying the same airplane we needed to move. Both airports were familiar. It was an easy 15-mile hop. It was dark; that’s okay because I was night current and it would just be the pilot aboard, since one of us had to drive to the destination and pick up the other. And it was snowing.