Remember: ATC Is NOT Required To Advise You Of Wx

Citing a recent spate of investigations identifying several accidents that appear to at least partly attributable to in-flight encounters with severe weather, the National Transportation Safety Board has posted a "Safety Alert" telling pilots to be extra cautious about their surroundings, especially when they see towering cumulus.

In the alert, the NTSB cites four examples of recent accidents in which aircraft on IFR flight plans entered areas of severe weather, with no advance warning from air traffic controllers. One of the accidents cited -- though not by name -- is the April 2006 loss near Ludville, GA of a Cessna 210A flown by legendary test pilot Scott Crossfield.

"These accidents have all involved aircraft operating under instrument flight rules and in contact with air traffic controllers," notes the NTSB in bullet points. "Investigations show that pilots were either not advised about areas of severe weather ahead or were given incomplete information... Each pilot had readily available alternatives that, if utilized, would have likely prevented the accident."

The NTSB notes ATC is not required to provide weather information to pilots operating under instrument flight rules. Furthermore, the weather information available to enroute controllers is limited to radar depictions of areas of severe precipitation. While those echoes are often an indicator of intense thunderstorm activity, they're not foolproof.

That said, the Board notes a better effort should be made to advise pilots when they're flying close to areas of severe weather... though the NTSB falls short of suggesting controllers should be held responsible for not warning pilots of severe weather.

"Severe weather avoidance is primarily your responsibility," the Board writes. "The primary job of ATC is to keep IFR aircraft separated. When their workload permits, controllers are also required to provide additional services such as weather advisories, and, upon pilot request, suggested headings to avoid radar-displayed precipitation."

The complete SA includes information about the classification of thunderstorms, and how to interpret ATC weather advisories.

It behooves anyone who regularly flies IFR -- make that ANY pilot, VFR or IFR, and especially if you fly at night -- to review the NTSB's SA. It's available at the top of the NTSB home page, as well as at the FMI link below.

After all, no pilots wants to become the subject of an NTSB accident report... and ANN doesn't really want to report on it, either.

FMI: http://ntsb.gov/alerts/SA_011.pdf