General Aviation Controlled Flight Into Terrain Awareness
General-aviation Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) awareness — recognizing and avoiding one of GA’s deadliest accident types.
About this document
AC 61-134, General Aviation Controlled Flight Into Terrain Awareness, addresses CFIT — an accident in which an airworthy aircraft under the pilot's control is flown into terrain, water, or obstacles with inadequate awareness. It explains the situations that lead to CFIT (night, weather, mountainous terrain, and unfamiliar areas), the human-factors traps involved, and the technology and techniques that prevent it.
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Take a free practice test →AC-61-134 is an official FAA publication in the public domain. We host a copy so you can read it in-browser; always confirm you are reading the current edition on faa.gov. The description above is an original summary and is a study aid, not a substitute for the document or the regulations.