Twenty-five years ago, a Seattle-area pilot tried to do his mother a favor. He would take her to visit a friend on the other side of the Cascades. Their route would go through the Snoqualmie Pass, which, on the day of the trip, was unfortunately beset by fog and low-lying clouds. The pilot was instrument-rated, but the rented Cessna 152 he was flying was not instrument-equipped. He followed Interstate 90. At a certain point, fog blocked the way, and the pilot decided to turn back. In the turn, he inadvertently flew into cloud, clipped a tree and crashed. Mother and son died together.
Aftermath: Mountain, Cloud, Highway
Key Takeaways:
- The article compares the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash to a 25-year-old Cessna accident, both involving fatal attempts by pilots to continue VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).
- While the older Cessna accident clearly involved a pilot turning back in fog and inadvertently entering a cloud, preliminary NTSB findings for the Bryant crash suggest an unintended steep left bank and descent, possibly due to spatial disorientation, rather than a deliberate turn-around maneuver.
- Both incidents underscore the extreme danger of "scud-running" and VFR flight into IMC, as losing the visual horizon can quickly lead to pilot disorientation, loss of control, and collision with terrain.
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