#cessna #emergency #atc
A Cessna departed Ranger Creek Airport, following the White River valley northwest to route to Boeing Field.
Ranger Creek Airport's elevation is 2,650 feet, located in the foothills north of Mount Rainier. The cloud ceiling was predicted at 5,000 feet for that day but in actuality it was much lower. As the pilot turned to follow the valley, he encountered a wall of clouds. He was a VFR pilot, which means he must stay visual and within sight of the ground. With high ground on either side of him, he had no choice but to fly into them. He contacted Seattle TRACON (S46) where controller Joshua Pate was covering the east sector, which borders Mount Rainier (14,411 feet) and the Cascade Mountain Range.
The pilot was at 5,900 feet and in cloud. Pate loaded his emergency obstruction video map. The Cessna was less than five miles north of terrain rising to 6,400 feet and seven miles west of more terrain rising to above the aircraft's altitude.
Once a pilot loses his visual references, the ability to use the instruments and understand the data is critical.
The pilot will suffer illusions as to the attitude and pitch of his aircraft and, without specific training, it is close to impossible to maintain straight and level flight, let alone manoeuvre.
Researchers at the University of Illinois tested twenty VFR pilots on simulated instrument weather: every single one entered a graveyard spiral or similar upset. All of them lost control of the aircraft: the only difference was how long it took. The pilot that survived the longest flew through the instrument conditions for 480 seconds (eight minutes). The shortest was twenty seconds. The average time was 178 seconds.
The controller knew he needed to get the pilot straight and level quickly.
Pate issued non-gyro vectors to help to lead the pilot away from the high terrain but the pilot became disorientated and began circling unintentionally. Pate continued to keep the pilot calm and issued vectors for about six minutes - nearly twice the average life expectancy of a visual pilot entering cloud - leading him back into visual conditions.
Негізгі бет “Lost” VFR pilot has COMPASS ISSUES!
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