Understand the Risks of Controlled Flight Into Terrain

Even in clear skies, a lapse in situational awareness can lead to disaster.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 at 09:13 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The FAA sent a notice to pilots warning them not to disable TAWS aural alerts as the tool can be a critical safety feature in avoiding CFIT accidents. [Credit: Jason McDowell]

Key Takeaways:

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) in VFR conditions primarily stems from a lack of situational awareness, meaning pilots let the aircraft go where their brain hasn't arrived.
Common causal factors include pilot distraction due to multitasking (e.g., with radios, tablets, or autopilots), leading to unnoticed deviations in altitude or heading until it's too late.
Other contributing elements include failure to comply with minimum safe altitudes ("scud running"), lack of pilot currency, and unfamiliarity with terrain, such as misjudging mountain environments or mistaking ground lights for stars at night.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Question: In ground school we’re learning about controlled flight into terrain. I get it if you are flying at night or accidentally go into a cloud, but we learned [it] can happen in VFR conditions. If you can see outside and what’s coming, shouldn’t you be able to avoid it?

Answer: Like most aviation accidents, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) usually has multiple causal factors. FAA Advisory Circular 61-134 has some good information to help understand how this happens, but basically, it boils down to a lack of situational awareness. Don’t let the airplane go anywhere your brain hasn’t arrived at 10 minutes earlier.