VFR into IMC · NTSB ERA22LA142
VANS AIRCRAFT INC RV-12IS — Big Pine Key, FL
| Date | February 27, 2022 |
| Location | Big Pine Key, FL |
| Aircraft | VANS AIRCRAFT INC RV-12IS (amateur-built) |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Enroute-cruise VFR encounter with IMC |
| Pilot age | 37 |
| Pilot total time | 88 hrs · Student / very low time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Psychological-Perception/orientation/illusion-Spatial disorientation-Pilot
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Weather planning-Pilot
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Lateral/bank control-Not attained/maintained
What happened
The sport pilot did not obtain a weather briefing before departing on a day visual flight rules cross-country flight over open water to an island airport along with a friend, who was flying a second airplane. The pilot of the second airplane reported that he had to descend from 6,500 ft mean sea level (msl) to 1,500 ft msl to remain below a broken cloud layer, diverted, and encouraged the accident pilot via radio several times to do the same. However, the accident pilot stated that he was descending from 6,500 ft msl to 4,500 ft msl and continuing to the original planned destination. No further communications were received from the accident pilot.
Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data revealed that the airplane was in the vicinity of moderate precipitation, which had been forecast, when it entered a descending right spiral before the flight track ended. Only the airplane’s vertical stabilizer and the right portion of the horizontal stabilizer were recovered after the accident. The pilot received his sport pilot certificate about one month before the accident. At that time, he reported a total flight experience of 88 hours; of which, 24 hours were as pilot-in-command and 0 hours were instrument experience. Given the pilot’s limited overall experience and lack of instrument flight experience, it is likely that the pilot experienced spatial disorientation and lost control of the airplane after encountering limited visibility conditions in the moderate precipitation while flying over open water.