Flight Training - December 2013 - 23

ACCIDENT REPORT

Dan Namowitz
FOG REDUCES VISIBILITY to less
than five-eighths of a statute mile.

TWO FOGGY NIGHTS

WHEN YOUR SIGHT PICTURE VANISHES

Y

our final approach has been perfect and now, as the threshold begins to slide beneath the nose, it looks like this is going
to be one of your best night landings ever. As you savor the
sight picture in the windscreen, it vanishes. Some glare from
airport lighting remains, but that's it. Shocked by the abrupt loss of
references, you have applied some involuntary control pressures to the yoke-but
you have no idea what they were. As your
brain works to wrap itself around the
idea of the only remedy for this predicament-a go-around flown by instrument
references-the aircraft slams onto the
ground. Six months later, after investigating, the National Transportation Safety
Board updates its preliminary accident
report with a probable cause: "The pilot's
failure to perform a go-around after
encountering thick fog at night."
Viewed from above as it forms on
an early evening, fog can appear gauzy
and thin, barely imposing a halo around
surface lights. Viewed along its long axis,
however, that same mass of fog can be no
more transparent than a brick wall.
You probably have read about that
fog hazard, especially dangerous when
it forms on a cool, clear evening when
restrictions to visibility were not a concern earlier in the day. If that brand of
fog-known as radiation fog-develops
quickly enough as the temperature drops
to the dew point, its presence can come as
a complete surprise when it presents itself
at a critically low altitude.
If fog is notorious for its surprise factor,
some mishaps demonstrate that awareness of its presence won't protect a pilot
who allows a sequence of events and pressures to form an accident chain.
On December 7, 2012, a noninstrumentrated pilot flying a Bellanca 7ECA crashed
into a plowed field in Tehachapi, California, shortly before dusk after attempting
to land at a fogged-in airport. Widespread
fog had already been visible during the
en-route portion of the flight, the NTSB
said. "The pilot attempted to listen to the

airport's automated weather observation
system but could only discern the altimeter reading due to radio static. He initiated
a descent to the traffic pattern altitude and
observed fog approaching the airport's
perimeter. The pilot further stated that
as the airplane was on the final approach
path, about three miles from the airport,
the visibility began to decrease. In an effort
to maintain visual contact with the airport,
he maneuvered the airplane below a fog
bank and elected to continue the approach
in instrument meteorological conditions."
The pilot lost all visual references at
about 500 feet above terrain, after which
the airplane hit the ground. The accident report also noted that at the time
of the pilot's initial weather briefing, the
destination airport was already reporting
instrument conditions.
The pilot had considered-but eventually discarded-a plan B: The report noted
that "despite the possibility of fog at his
destination, he decided to attempt the
flight with the intention of diverting to an
alternate airport if the weather conditions
deteriorated." Included in the NTSB's
determination of probable cause were the
pilot's lack of an instrument rating and the
"loss of situational awareness arising from
the continued descent into instrument
conditions."

Safety Quiz: A Visit to the Gray Lady
You are flying your Cessna 182 to Nantucket, Massachusetts. But Nantucket
being Nantucket, you'll have fog to
contend with. Is your IFR knowledge
up for the challenge? Test yourself in
this Air Safety Institute course (www.
aopa.org/Education/Safety-Quizzes).

It's always a rewarding feeling to spot
your destination and notify the air traffic
controller who has been providing you
with radar advisories that you have the
field in sight. The last thing a pilot may
expect at such a time is for the runway to
suddenly vanish in a thick fog.
That, said the NTSB, may have been
what happened when a commercial,
instrument-rated pilot attempted to land
at a lighted private airstrip in western
Iowa on December 1, 2012. Two passengers perished, and the 70-year-old pilot
died from burns and injuries two months
later, according to newspaper accounts.
The 2,400-hour pilot, who was flying a
Beech Bonanza P35, "advised an air traffic
controller that he had the airport in sight,
and the controller acknowledged and told
the pilot that radar services were terminated. The airport had an unimproved
grass strip and runway lights."
The accident report incorporated
weather observations from nearby: "Two
witnesses who lived next to the airport
said thick fog quickly enveloped the area
shortly before the accident. Another witness said that visibility had dropped to less
than one-quarter mile and that he heard
the airplane fly low over his house but
could not see it. On the approach to land,
the airplane struck trees and terrain about
one-quarter mile northeast of the airport."
The NTSB attributed the accident to
a failure to execute a go-around when
encountering the thick fog. (A subsequent
accident involving the ambulance transporting the pilot, and a police vehicle, also
was attributed to the fog.)
On the subject of that go-around: During your next night approach, be sure you
are ready to perform one on an instant's
notice-even with the runway now clearly
in sight.
Dan Namowitz is an aviation writer and flight
instructor. He has been a pilot since 1985 and an
instructor since 1990.

DECEMBER 2013 FLIGHT TRAINING

/ 23


http://www.aopa.org/Education/Safety-Quizzes http://www.aopa.org/Education/Safety-Quizzes

Flight Training - December 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - December 2013

Flight Training - December 2013
Contents
Member Benefits
Centerline
Right Seat
Letters
When Basic Training Came Second
Success Story News
How it Works
After the Checkride
News
Training Products
ASI News
News
Tech Tip
News
Final Exam
Accident Report
Flying Carpet
Behind the Curtain
COLLEGE AVIATION DIRECTORY
ARE YOU OUTSIDE IN OR INSIDE OUT?
AVIATION SPEAK
TECHNIQUE
Weather
Flight Lesson
Finding Your Nest
Career Advisor
Tech Talk
Teaching Technology
Open-Door Policy
The Best Job I've Ever Had
Advertiser Index
Debrief
Flight Training - December 2013 - Flight Training - December 2013
Flight Training - December 2013 - Cover2
Flight Training - December 2013 - 1
Flight Training - December 2013 - Contents
Flight Training - December 2013 - Member Benefits
Flight Training - December 2013 - 4
Flight Training - December 2013 - Centerline
Flight Training - December 2013 - Right Seat
Flight Training - December 2013 - 7
Flight Training - December 2013 - Letters
Flight Training - December 2013 - 9
Flight Training - December 2013 - When Basic Training Came Second
Flight Training - December 2013 - 11
Flight Training - December 2013 - Success Story News
Flight Training - December 2013 - How it Works
Flight Training - December 2013 - After the Checkride
Flight Training - December 2013 - News
Flight Training - December 2013 - Training Products
Flight Training - December 2013 - ASI News
Flight Training - December 2013 - News
Flight Training - December 2013 - Tech Tip
Flight Training - December 2013 - News
Flight Training - December 2013 - 21
Flight Training - December 2013 - Final Exam
Flight Training - December 2013 - Accident Report
Flight Training - December 2013 - Flying Carpet
Flight Training - December 2013 - 25
Flight Training - December 2013 - Behind the Curtain
Flight Training - December 2013 - 27
Flight Training - December 2013 - 28
Flight Training - December 2013 - 29
Flight Training - December 2013 - 30
Flight Training - December 2013 - 31
Flight Training - December 2013 - COLLEGE AVIATION DIRECTORY
Flight Training - December 2013 - 33
Flight Training - December 2013 - 34
Flight Training - December 2013 - 35
Flight Training - December 2013 - 36
Flight Training - December 2013 - 37
Flight Training - December 2013 - ARE YOU OUTSIDE IN OR INSIDE OUT?
Flight Training - December 2013 - 39
Flight Training - December 2013 - 40
Flight Training - December 2013 - 41
Flight Training - December 2013 - AVIATION SPEAK
Flight Training - December 2013 - 43
Flight Training - December 2013 - 44
Flight Training - December 2013 - 45
Flight Training - December 2013 - TECHNIQUE
Flight Training - December 2013 - 47
Flight Training - December 2013 - Weather
Flight Training - December 2013 - 49
Flight Training - December 2013 - Flight Lesson
Flight Training - December 2013 - Finding Your Nest
Flight Training - December 2013 - Career Advisor
Flight Training - December 2013 - 53
Flight Training - December 2013 - Tech Talk
Flight Training - December 2013 - Teaching Technology
Flight Training - December 2013 - Open-Door Policy
Flight Training - December 2013 - The Best Job I've Ever Had
Flight Training - December 2013 - 58
Flight Training - December 2013 - Advertiser Index
Flight Training - December 2013 - 60
Flight Training - December 2013 - 61
Flight Training - December 2013 - 62
Flight Training - December 2013 - 63
Flight Training - December 2013 - 64
Flight Training - December 2013 - 65
Flight Training - December 2013 - 66
Flight Training - December 2013 - 67
Flight Training - December 2013 - 68
Flight Training - December 2013 - 69
Flight Training - December 2013 - 70
Flight Training - December 2013 - 71
Flight Training - December 2013 - Debrief
Flight Training - December 2013 - Cover3
Flight Training - December 2013 - Cover4
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