IFR Means I Follow Roads

By Alan Smith

Flying light aircraft in the mountains, especially during the winter months, has its own set of rules. Some are fairly obvious while others are a bit more subtle.

Flying a light plane through rugged mountain territory is done without some of the emergency options a pilot has while crossing the flatlands or wide valleys below. It should be clear, for example, to any pilot as he or she moves through the high peaks and canyons of a mountain range that fields in which he could safely put the airplane in the event of engine failure are few and far between.