Into the cloud: VFR flight into instrument conditions
Flights under visual flight rules - the pilot navigating by looking outside - that continued into cloud, fog or low visibility. Without a horizon a pilot without instrument training can lose control within minutes, which is why so many records here are fatal.
From 2008 the NTSB codes this as the defining event, from 1982 to 2007 as "VFR flight into IMC", and before 1982 as a cause or factor worded "continued VFR flight into adverse weather conditions"; all three are here. Records where only the narrative says so are not.
4,370 occurrences, 1948 to 2025 · 3,599 fatal, 8,071 deaths
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More collections
- Fire and explosion Fires and explosions before any impact: engines, cabins, cargo holds, wiring and fuel.
- Came apart in the air Structural failures in flight: wings, tails and doors that separated from the aircraft.
- Bird strikes From a gull through a windscreen to geese in both engines of an airliner.
- Airliner turbulence Why the seatbelt sign matters: airliner turbulence, windshear and storm encounters.