Aircraft: Cessna 177. Injuries: 1 Minor. Location: Branson, Mo. Aircraft damage: Substantial.
What reportedly happened: The accident occurred as the pilot attempted to make a night landing on a lighted runway. He reported that the plane was not properly aligned with the runway centerline, so he performed a go-around. During the go-around he lost control after losing external visual references in the dark.
The airplane crashed on the runway and a visual approach slope indicator then went down a steep wooded ravine.
Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control during an attempted go-around in dark night conditions.
NTSB Identification: CEN12LA645
This August 2012 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Apparently there isn’t any emphasis on flying the airplane primarily by reference to the instruments and only secondarily by outside visual clues and to check for other traffic. The instruction is just the opposite. Students are taught at first to fly the aircraft by looking outside most of the time (for fear of supposedly a mid-air collision – which is very rare I might add). It’s more likely that a crash will occur because of spatial disorientation rather than a mid-air collision so much so that it is obvious that the emphasis is in the wrong place. Forget about “IFR versus VFR” and concentrate on “IMC (read that most night flying) and VMC” all of which needs to emphasize flying the aircraft by the instrumentation. Worry about radioing the ATC boys when the wings get level. It is so ingrained in pilots that when you are on instruments that you have to be following “IFR” regulations. Once again: “IFR & VFR” are rules applicable to two types of flights. “IMC & VMC” are two visual conditions both of which require flying the aircraft primarily by use of the instrumentation. To do otherwise invites spatial disorientation to the inadequately trained.
This was a mid-air collision with that big round ball (BRB) we call the earth. Ignoring reference to its artificial representation on the instrument panel after losing visual sight of the BRB is an invitation to a mid-air like this one. Like gravity, the BRB always wins.