 FACT: If a pilot encounters clouds, and he is not operating in  accordance with Instrument Flight Rules, he is required to turn  around. In order to get a Private Pilot License (the first license a  pilot normally gets), he must be trained in, and must demonstrate  competence in, basic flight by reference to instruments, just in  case he accidentally gets in the clouds and needs to turn around to  get out of them. In other words, when the pilot went into the  clouds, he should have been able to turn around in order to get out  of the clouds.