When The Weather Changes

What has gone wrong? You checked the weather forecast carefully in advance, and when you took off the sky was clear and visibility was excellent. It was supposed to stay that way. But now the clouds are getting lower, you’re peering through gloom and drizzle – and could that have been an ominous rumble of thunder? It’s becoming difficult to navigate, and if things get any worse it’ll be just plain scary? How did this happen, when you were so careful? And more importantly, what should you do?

- Helen Krasner

If you haven’t encountered this scenario or one like it, then you either haven’t been flying very long or you live in a part of the world with remarkably reliable weather…if such places exist. For the rest of us, if you haven’t been caught out by the weather yet when you’ve been flying, then someday you almost definitely will. Weather is changeable, and forecasting it is not an exact science. So it is sensible to have some idea in advance of what you will do if conditions change during your flight.

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating - the first and absolutely the most important fact to remember is that helicopters can land almost anywhere. All you need is a piece of flat ground, and it doesn’t need to be very big. In a real emergency, a flat roof in a city or a small clearing in a forest will do just fine, so long as you have the skill to land there. This is perhaps the greatest advantage of helicopters over all other types of aircraft, and it is maybe an escape route that should be used more often, especially by low hours pilots. Even the British CAA, an organisation not renowned for being in favour of pilots landing wherever and whenever they feel like it, states in a safety leaflet on helicopter flying: “A helicopter has the unique ability to land almost anywhere. If…you find yourself in a weather, fuel, navigation or other difficulty – simply land and sort out the situation’. And to quote yet another well-known aviation saying: “It is better to be down here wishing you were up there, than vice-versa”.