For pilots, why is flying on IFR (“Instrument Flight Rating”) so difficult? Can’t a pilot just focus on their instruments and stay oriented and on course?

Question

(Edit: “Rules,” not “Rating.” Sorry.)

Obviously I don’t know beans about flying, but I see many stories about inexperienced pilots who get disoriented flying through clouds, sometimes even to the point of flying upside-down. Aren’t there instruments on your control panel which tell you your speed, altitude, and orientation? How can you be plummeting towards the ground and not notice?

I hope this question isn’t so ignorant as to be insulting. I know flying is difficult and complicated and it’s easy to criticize from here on the ground. I wish I was skilled enough to know how to fly a plane. I just see many stories about accidents where inexperienced pilots seem to be making apparently ridiculous mistakes.

In: Other

Answer 1

>Aren’t there instruments on your control panel which tell you your speed, altitude, and orientation?

If you want a counter-point for the human element, sometimes sensors ice up or break. When that happens, the autopilot gives up, and says to you “jesus take the wheel!” in a sense. For specific human factors, your body lies to you, if you have no visual cues. An acceleration can feel like a descent, or a roll like something else. You are just used to having visual hints from having your feet planted/a horizon to look at, and you don’t spin in circles until your inner ear equalizes normally. Doing under the hood trainingcan be extremely eye opening, and should honestly be done yearly to remind pilots they are human