Advisory Circular 61-134 (General Aviation Controlled Flight Into Terrain Awareness) has had an Editorial Update (see the change bars, the date on the document 4/1/03 has not changed).
PURPOSE OF THIS ADVISORY CIRCULAR (AC). This AC highlights the inherent risk that controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) poses for general aviation (GA) pilots. This AC includes the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) common definition of the term CFIT; identifies some, but not all, of the risks associated with GA CFIT accidents; and provides some recommendations and strategies to combat CFIT within the GA community. This AC is not an all-inclusive document on CFIT; rather, this AC is designed to help flight instructors, FAA Aviation Safety Program Managers, and other trainers develop CFIT training materials by identifying some of the factors involved in GA CFIT accidents. Some common references are included to aid instructors in preparing CFIT presentations. Pilots can benefit from reading this AC to check their own knowledge of CFIT and factors involved to avoid having a GA CFIT accident. This AC will break the study of GA CFIT into three broad categories. One will focus on visual flight rules (VFR) pilots without an instrument rating operating in marginal VFR weather conditions (visual meteorological conditions (VMC)) or instrument flight rules (IFR) weather conditions (instrument meteorological conditions (IMC)) commonly known as scud running. The second category will focus on GA IFR operations in IMC conditions on an IFR flight. The third category will focus on low-flying aircraft operating in VFR conditions. This AC does not address CFIT in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 121 or part 135 operations. The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.
AC61-134 CFIT Editorial Link
Please contact Kyle Weinzirl FAASTeam Program Manager, email Kyle.weinzirl@faa.gov with any question or concerns
