Originally Posted by
Bell_ringer
It may seem like semantics, but if the aircraft is going in a different direction to which you intended, then its LOC, no matter how firmly you are attached to the levers.
The ICAO usage is exactly that (
www.icao.int pdf):
Loss of aircraft control while or deviation from intended flightpath inflight . (LOC-I: Loss of control - inflight)
Loss of control inflight is an extreme manifestation of a deviation from intended flightpath.
The usage notes explicitly include pilot-induced oscillations and practice autorotation.
CFIT is more of an "wasn't aware there was terrain in the way" kind of thing.
I found this interesting:
Unintended flight in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) (UIMC: Unintended flight in IMC)
Usage Notes:
May be used as a precursor to CFIT, LOC-I or LALT.
Applicable if the pilot was flying according to Visual Flight Rules (VFR), as defined in Annex 2 Rules of the Air to the Convention on International Civil Aviation and by any reason found oneself inadvertently in IMC
Only to be used when loss of visual references is encountered,
Only to be used if pilot not qualified to fly in IMC and/or aircraft not equipped to fly in IMC
Ms Homendy mentioned that the NTSB would be looking into whether the IFR equipment in the helicopter was servicable. If it was, and since the pilot was IFR-rated, this would technically fail to qualify as an UIMC occurence.