In December 2019, a Canadian-registry Piper Aerostar 602P with three aboard left Cabo San Lucas in Baja California, Mexico, to return home to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The group stopped overnight at Chino, California, east of Los Angeles—perhaps to visit the aviation museum there—and continued the next day to Nanaimo with a stop at Bishop, California. They left Bishop at 2:25 in the afternoon (1425 PST) on an IFR flight plan.
Classic Aftermath: An Attitude Indicator Fails at the Worst Time
Key Takeaways:
- A Canadian Piper Aerostar crashed near Nanaimo in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) after the pilot reported an attitude indicator failure during an IFR approach, leading to erratic flight, spatial disorientation, and the loss of all three occupants.
- The incident highlights the severe challenge of flying solely by backup instruments in IMC when the primary attitude indicator fails, often leading to spatial disorientation and loss of control even for experienced pilots with ATC assistance.
- The article implicitly criticizes the limited scope of the accident report and emphasizes the critical, yet often neglected, need for pilots to practice extended partial panel flying, including full instrument approaches, to prepare for unexpected gyro failures.
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