Are IMC/IR pilots safer?

[Fuji Abound]

I have clearly explained myself poorly.

If the aircraft is reasonably under control, but collides with the ground (or a mountain, mast or anything similiar), the pilot has unfortunately become a culprit of controlling his aircraft into the scenery. The scenerio can occur in IMC, marginal VMC or even VMC.

Almost all other accidents occur because the pilot in the first instance has lost control. Accidents in the circuit are the usual culprit, be it stalling on the base turn, allowing the aircraft to become slow on final, to a botched attempt to turn back to the runway after an engine failure. Add in to these events loss of control following an engine failure en route, loss of control in turbulence, and show boating and you have covered almost all the scenerios, with the exception of loss of control in IMC.

I agree that the pilot being squeezed in the scud may lose control before the impact, but even in this situation I would suggest a pilot with aero experience is likely to hang on to control for longer, which might just enable his escape.

In the event of loss of control as outlined (as opposed to CFIT) a competant aerobatic pilot is in my opinion far more likely in the first instance to recognise control is about to be lost and in the second instance is far more likely to react correctly and sufficiently quickly to ensure the best chance of regaining control. Moreover, he is more likely to have the skills at his disposal to better cope with some of the scenarios that can lead to loss of control in the first place - for example a turn in a valley, to avoid the valley head which has become hidden in cloud, or a difficult approach into a forced landing site.

In short a pilot with aero training is far more likely to be aware of operating the aircraft close or beyond its flight envelope and how to regain that envelope in an emergency.

I would even go as far as suggesting that many pilots who regularly fly aeros (whether or not they have a formal instrument rating) are probably better than most at handling the aircraft in IMC, be it on partial panel or following loss of control in IMC for other reasons. The first time the top of the loop enters cloud is always an interesting event as is maintaining an aerobatic routine in VMC that most pilots would consider to be IMC!