Cessna 182T VFR into IMC
Joined: Apr 2013
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From: down under
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: australia
After getting into cloud he hit a tree and was saved by the aircraft which still flew. After an encounter like that I would have thought that he would have dropped it onto the first road he saw before it fell apart rather than flying it for another hour and half.
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: Oz
"A superior pilot uses his superior judgment to avoid situations which require the use of his superior skill"
I would suggest that this guy is anything but a superior pilot - what has he learnt after more that 3000 hours. As Staffy said, "what did he do right/"
No doubt he and more importantly his passenger were saved by pure luck. Luck that should never have been needed before he departed in the first place.
As for all the heroes who say - been there done that - you gain no respect from me.
Joined: Jul 2011
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From: nosar
As for all the heroes who say - been there done that - you gain no respect from me.
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,646
Likes: 766
From: Australia
Its not often that an ATSB report will be directly critical of a pilot involved in an accident, but this paragraph is the core of the problem:
This isn't an accident where someone was caught out by unforecast conditions, this was simply a lack of appreciation for the weather that was always going to be encountered. Even when it was encountered there was no coherent plan to deal with it. Despite all the technology available for pre-flight planning and the technology on the aircraft the pilot continued to put himself and his passenger in danger. It was only when the aircraft systems snapped him out of whatever decision making torpor he was in, was he prepared to do something. If pilots are not going to take the task of piloting seriously then there is nothing to learn.
The pilot’s pre-flight planning was inadequate for the intended flight. The pilot had planned the second leg of the flight at a height that would not have allowed sufficient safe
margin from terrain. While they obtained the forecast weather for a location close to their destination, which identified local conditions were suitable for visual flight, the pilot did not
obtain the required graphical area forecast which indicated cloud height below terrain level on the flight planned track. Had the pilot obtained the area forecast this likely would
have influenced their decision to commence the flight or plan an alternate route. After encountering low cloud, the pilot continued flight towards the destination and into
rising terrain, this forced them to descend below safe terrain clearance altitudes to a height of about 200 ft above ground level, rather than divert or return.
margin from terrain. While they obtained the forecast weather for a location close to their destination, which identified local conditions were suitable for visual flight, the pilot did not
obtain the required graphical area forecast which indicated cloud height below terrain level on the flight planned track. Had the pilot obtained the area forecast this likely would
have influenced their decision to commence the flight or plan an alternate route. After encountering low cloud, the pilot continued flight towards the destination and into
rising terrain, this forced them to descend below safe terrain clearance altitudes to a height of about 200 ft above ground level, rather than divert or return.
Last edited by Lookleft; 4th November 2025 at 06:24.
Joined: Mar 2005
Aviation Qualifications: Military
Posts: 6,563
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From: Aus
As for all the heroes who say - been there done that - you gain no respect from me
Back in 1977 was refuelling at Queenstown when a 182 with two couples taxied up to he pumps with shrubbery hanging from the airframe but no damage, had come from Hobart with good weather till the mountains on the west coast, trying to pick through a valley he came to the end and in climbing out hit the shrubbery.
First time I engaged in scud running it was an immense PPL learning experience, funny thing is I was to later spend 27 years scud running and IMC at 300', but it was easy work, aircraft with all the aids and being over water terrain was a non issue, organisation SOP least you be aghast.
There are however a few on this site who have flown extensively in situations you may not have ever experienced and have learnt something you probably never will
Aussie
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 399
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From: Abeam YAYE
VH-KIB?
Who remembers the Cessna 402B crash near Queenstown, Tasmania, in May 1979?
The 402 reportedly entered cloud on approach, then struck trees on Mt Sorell while attempting to climb away. Amazingly, all three on board survived with only minor injuries and were rescued afterwards.
I viewed the wreckage from the air a number of times in the 1980s (but not recently) and have heard a little about the pilot’s subsequent career, though I can’t confirm anything. Does anyone recall more about the incident or the people involved?
Who remembers the Cessna 402B crash near Queenstown, Tasmania, in May 1979?
The 402 reportedly entered cloud on approach, then struck trees on Mt Sorell while attempting to climb away. Amazingly, all three on board survived with only minor injuries and were rescued afterwards.
I viewed the wreckage from the air a number of times in the 1980s (but not recently) and have heard a little about the pilot’s subsequent career, though I can’t confirm anything. Does anyone recall more about the incident or the people involved?
Joined: Jul 2008
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From: Brisbane
When I was working for Australian Air Charters in 1976 I was cross-hired to BizJets to fly that aircraft on the Queenstown run. My logbook shows about 5 trips. I subsequently met the pilot of that accident three years later but I've forgotten his name. He reversed the let-down and descended in the opposite direction to the plate and just flew into the ground. His dramatic description of events was bone chilling. What I remember most was his tale of the incredible silence when everything came to a stop. Leaves were fluttering down into the cockpit from the torn cockpit roof which pealed back.
What made me laugh was the first words spoken by the passenger down the back, "!!!! eh". Very lucky and proof you always stand a chance if the aeroplane is still flying and not stalled or doing a VMCA demonstration.
What made me laugh was the first words spoken by the passenger down the back, "!!!! eh". Very lucky and proof you always stand a chance if the aeroplane is still flying and not stalled or doing a VMCA demonstration.
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 399
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From: Abeam YAYE
By George
Thanks for that — interesting to read your recollection. I’d been told by Bill Vincent, who was my employer at the time, that the front of the aeroplane was ripped away and the occupants exited by walking forward through the nose. That fits with what you’ve described. I hadn’t thought of it—or perhaps hadn’t trusted my memory of that detail—so I didn’t mention it originally.
Sure is!
Thanks for that — interesting to read your recollection. I’d been told by Bill Vincent, who was my employer at the time, that the front of the aeroplane was ripped away and the occupants exited by walking forward through the nose. That fits with what you’ve described. I hadn’t thought of it—or perhaps hadn’t trusted my memory of that detail—so I didn’t mention it originally.
Very lucky and proof you always stand a chance if the aeroplane is still flying and not stalled or doing a VMCA demonstration.
