I am no one to criticize anyone, 4 people lost their life, but still amazes me to have 4 adults on board plus luggage in marginal weather.
4 people lost their life, but still amazes me to have 4 adults on board plus luggage
The 182 is probably the one 4seater which really can do that….
Marginal weather… Unfortunately the biggest temptation to which way too many people succomb regularly.
marginal weather
It was much worse than marginal. Actually, the route they flew was not flyable (especially VFR which they filed) at the time of the flight at their altitude with C182. I believe the investigation will find out inadvertent VMC to IMC following by spatial disorientation, losing control and entering spin.
still amazes me to have 4 adults on board plus luggage in marginal weather.
C182 is a good 4pob aircraft, the weather capability is good as well if you are IFR rated, for VFR only, you can plant it in any field you can imagine the moment visibility starts to deteriorate if opting for precautionary landing is on the table
Also, to lose it in spin or spiral dives in IMC or VMC, you have to try very hard: something like full power, max bank and max pull for a long time, it’s not the most slippery aircraft out there…
Ibra wrote:
you have to try very hard
You can do what they’ve done in Nepal.
More than 400 people were included in search but unfortunately the result is as it was assumed at very first moment. After all night search, crash spot was found in the morning with drone.
lmsl1967 wrote:
but still amazes me to have 4 adults on board plus luggage in marginal weather.
If any 4-seater SEP can do it, then the C182 is it. These airplanes have amazing payload, can outclimb a lot of wx (IIRC I’ve taken one up to 16k ft) and, as @Ibra says, can land pretty much anywhere. The only thing it cannot do is deal with icing. And, of course, bad decision making by the pilot.
A lot of accidents look like the pilot just didn’t get wx data. In some cases it became known later that he actually didn’t.
The thing is that “we” don’t understand that because we are a group which learns from each other. A lot of pilots are “outside the system”, or hang out on forums which are basically “zero info” (like facebook, which has practically zero learning value / archival value / search capability), or carry largely aggressive discussions (could easily name some famous ones).
What was this pilot’s age? Many are simply not on the internet.
Many are simply not on the internet.
Or some spend too much time on the internet, iso of practical flying 
Having a couple of VFR hours under my belt (…), I sure learned quickly how one can get caught by weather, being lowering or climbing clouds, visibility dropping in rain/snow, strong winds, etc. The saying of ho, we can always do a 180° is quite often difficult to apply, in that there is a key point at which the decision has to be made.
Recognizing where and when this key point is, is crucial.
Not sure about the value of the 180° turn taught in PPL training, kinda same with all AP fitted aircraft… people having either or both will probably push the limits of their scud running activities, not always a good idea… remember those 2 bags, luck & experience
Dan wrote:
The saying of ho, we can always do a 180° is quite often difficult to apply, in that there is a key point at which the decision has to be made. Recognizing where and when this key point is, is crucial.
You will be surprised how it’s difficult to do 180 turn back or avoid clouds, even when I had my PPL without IR or when flying VFR aircraft, I rarely turn back, almost never, I think it’s way easy is to define a stop loss and strategy for ‘VFR in IMC’, hope is not a strategy ! turn back is not a strategy !
Something like no scud runs and no more than 5min in IMC, climb above MSA, use AP, use PT heat, alter/carb air, repeat after me heading & altitude…I apply same logic with an IR in IFR aircraft, before entering clouds, I tend to assess terrain & airspace situation and fly the aircraft until I get used to it, I may speak to ATC after 30min or 1h, maybe never unless I am on top of my flying in clouds and navigation versus terrain (many pilots who tend to prioritize radio calls or unsafe descents toward terrain over safe and stable climbs into clouds and flying aircraft, I think it’s matter of preference and a chacun son gout)
Of course majority of pilots, rarely turn back outside clouds and only few will bite bullet to climb above to safe altitudes from dangerous hard terrain into safer soft clouds, including the one guy who taught me ‘VFR 180 turn back’ in Cub with wet compass and basic gyro, sadly, he flew an Arrow3 into mountain on way from Portugal to San-Sebastian in Jan 2019, I am still puzzled until today why on earth an IR rated pilot who is very experienced instructor was cruising bellow his safe altitude in an IFR equipped Arrow? or electrical fault? his IR was expired? or ATC constraint?
