Navigating Smoke

Smoke can present a hazard to all pilots, but especially those flying under visual flight rules.

Thursday, June 08, 2023 at 11:09 AM ET

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Smoke from Canadian wildfires brought in by wind created a hazy New York city skyline June 7, 2023. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Smoke from forest fires presents significant aviation hazards, including drastically reduced visibility (making VFR flying impossible and challenging IFR) and health risks from inhaled toxins, necessitating caution and potential use of oxygen.
Pilots are advised to avoid flying in smoky conditions if possible; if a flight is necessary, filing an instrument flight plan and using supplemental oxygen, even below 10,000 feet, are recommended.
For aviation planning, Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs) indicating "FU" (smoke) are reliable for local conditions, and the experimental HRRR-Smoke model provides detailed, hourly updated forecasts for smoke concentration at various altitudes and integrated vertically.

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Given the dozens of forest fires burning out of control in southeastern Canada, mainly in Quebec and Nova Scotia, I have received many inquiries from my followers about how to deal with smoke from an aviation perspective. First and foremost, smoke can present a hazard to all pilots, but especially those flying under VFR.

Fires in Canada as of June 7, 2023. Red means the fires are out of control, yellow, being held, and blue, under control. Source: https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/interactive-map.

Smoke lowers visibility, not only at the surface, but aloft as well. It is not unusual for smoke to lower flight and surface visibility to less than 1 statute mile, making flying VFR impossible and dangerous, especially at night and in mountainous terrain. Even under IFR, visibility may be in the low IFR flight category and below published minimums for some airports. In fact, the FAA implemented a ground stop for flights bound for New York’s LaGuardia airport because of smoke and reduced visibility on Wednesday.