Flight Training - January/February 2022 - 13

ASI TIPS
BY ALICIA HERRON
DAZED AND CONFUSED
AVOIDING SPATIAL DISORIENTATION
PILOTS DEPRIVED OF VISUAL REFERENCES WHILE FLYING CAN QUICKLY LOSE CONTROL
of the aircraft and succumb to one of general aviation's biggest killers: spatial disorientation.
While the physiology and dangers of spatial disorientation are taught during
primary and instrument flight training, pilots can still misunderstand spatial disorientation
and how to deal with it.
Here are some tips on how you can avoid its hazards.
MAINTAIN VFR
If you're not instrument-rated, do not enter instrument meteorological conditions
(IMC). This seems basic but every year, unqualified pilots fly into clouds on purpose.
Establish sensible personal weather minimums and resist the temptation and pressures
to exceed them. If you enter IMC inadvertently, make a one-eighty and exit these
conditions as soon as possible. You and your instructor will practice this in simulated
conditions before the checkride-you may be surprised at how challenging it can be to
just fly straight and level while under the hood, let alone turn.
NEW FROM ASI
'EARLY ANALYSIS: N7022G'
On October 11, 2021, a Cessna 340 crashed into a neighborhood in Santee, California,
killing the pilot and one person on the ground and seriously injuring two others. The pilot
was experienced in the airplane and had flown this exact route several times prior to the
accident. As the pilot was vectored for the approach into Montgomery Gibbs Executive
Airport, weather conditions were turbulent with ragged ceilings from 1,700 feet to 2,000
feet above ground level (agl). In the video Early Analysis: N7022G, the AOPA Air Safety
Institute makes a preliminary assessment of the accident, addressing notable portions
of the tragic flight and highlighting areas the NTSB will likely investigate to determine
a probable cause. Read the AOPA Air Safety Institute's Spatial Disorientation Safety
Spotlight to learn more about factors that might have contributed to this accident.
airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/spacialdisorientation
FLY WITHIN YOUR CAPABILITIES
Make a commitment to fly within your
capabilities. Maintaining VFR isn't
always enough to avoid spatial disorientation.
Use judgment and discipline
to avoid conditions you may not be prepared
for, such as marginal or night VFR
conditions. Make sure you're familiar
with your aircraft's instrument panel,
the flight-handling characteristics,
and the aircraft's speed. This becomes
more critical at night, when visibility
inside the cockpit as well as outside is
reduced.
CHOOSE YOUR ROUTE CAREFULLY
If flying in marginal conditions or at
night, pick a route that provides the best
outside visual reference, even if it lengthens
the flight: over land rather than over
water, for example, or over areas with
ground lighting instead of undeveloped
countryside.
GET AN INSTRUMENT RATING
Nothing you can do, no piece of equipment
you can put in the panel, will do
more to protect you from the confusion
that kills than the ability to correctly
interpret flight instruments and control
the aircraft accordingly. Once you earn
the rating, keep your instrument skills
not only current but proficient, and until
then, err on the side of caution with
weather decisions. If you just want to
focus on passing your private checkride
for now, that's fine too, but make a plan
with your CFI (or a trusted safety pilot)
to practice simulated instrument conditions
even after the checkride's over.
All pilots are susceptible to spatial
disorientation-don't underestimate just
how powerful it can be. Prepare now and
know how to avoid loss of control just in
case it happens to you.
Watch this Accident Case Study
where a VFR-only pilot accepted an IFR
clearance with tragic results. airsafety
institute.org/ACS/blindoverbakersfield
alicia.herron@aopa.org
FLIGHT TRAINING JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
13

https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/online-learning/accident-case-studies/accident-case-study-blind-over-bakersfield https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/online-learning/accident-case-studies/accident-case-study-blind-over-bakersfield https://airsafetyinstitute.org/spotlight/spatialdisorientation

Flight Training - January/February 2022

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