"There is nothing with planning ahead and being prepared to go IFR at some stage during the flight but that decision is made at the planning stage, not in the air."
That is just about the most sweeping conclusion I have ever seen.
Even more sweeping is the tenuous way you assoicate that with the AOPA quote.
The AOPA qutoe tells us that some instrument rated pilots were sadly not very good at making the transition from VMC to IMC. That is why I said an instrument rated pilot is only as good as he is current. The AOPA quote tells us that most of these accidents start relatively soon after the pilot enters cloud. NOT, my emphasis, during the unplanned instrument approach which could be the logical conclusion of the unexpected transition form VMC to IMC. Well I struggle to see how those same pilots would have faired any better had they planned the transition on the ground. I am also left wondering how many of those pilots, if they had struggled on in VMC would have also lost their lives.
My point, as I think was Englisal's, was that for a CURRENT instrument rated pilot, it is likely to be far safer transitioning to IMC and climbing to the MSA than struggling on in detiorating VMC until you end up having to make the transition from an unacceptably low height (below MSA) not knowing what is ahead.
Of course you are correct it is better to plan for an IFR flight when still on the ground. That is not the issue. The issue I think was you are unexpectedly (for whatever the reason) caught out in a lowering overcast and perhaps cant back track (again for whatever reason) - in this case what do you do if you are a CURRENT instrument rated pilot.
Are you seriously suggesting a CURRENT instrument rated pilot is incapable of transitioning unexpectedly form VMC to IMC? Are you suggesting a CURRENT instrument rated pilot would be better staying below a 500 foot overcast than climbing IMC to the MSA if those were the conditions he happened to encounter?
Last edited by Fuji Abound; 6th Jun 2005 at 09:50.