The flight instructor reported that, while conducting mountain flying training near Wenatchee, Washington, the pilot-rated student was using roads as a primary means of navigation.
The student made a wrong turn due to smoke and haze and entered an area where the Cessna 172 could not out-climb terrain.
The flight instructor assumed control of the airplane, which subsequently collided with trees.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and fuselage.
Probable Cause: The student pilot’s inadequate inflight navigation and the flight instructors delayed remedial action which resulted in a collision with trees.
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This August 2021 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.
Well at least it was flown into the trees by a professional and not an amateur pilot.
One of the problems with smoke from wildfires, here in CA, is that the asos/awos systems cannot detect it. So, one can start a takeoff and find yourself in a smoke layer at 1,000 ft, but it cannot be seen from the ground.
In cruise flight, it’s nearly the same, with the smoke not visibly ahead until ou’re in it.
Assuming this wasn’t a critical delivery mission, surely the pilots were aware of the smoky conditions along their route but few it anyway. Joy riding in the smoke! When it’s smoky and foggy on the ground, I don’t take my car out for a fun ride to look at the scenery. Some of these reports just boggle my mind.
Regards/J
Wide spread wildfire smoke is a very serious hazard! IFR (I Follow Roads — i.e. scud running) is a really bad idea in mountainous terrain or even relatively flat terrain. Guy wires on towers, and often the towers themselves may be invisible even up to impact. Loss of control is a very real risk in thick smoke. Even if we’re nominally in control of our aircraft, like the pilots in this accident report, we can be in way too deep and CFIT becomes a serious risk.. If we’re not instrument rated, current, proficient, and on an instrument flight plan the place for us to be is on the ground.