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C150 pilot reported VFR in IMC and cftt en route when he attempted to duck under the cloud cover to reach the destination airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1588140 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201810 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | CLS.Airport |
| State Reference | WA |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | Mixed |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Cessna 150 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Route In Use | None |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 22 Flight Crew Total 2359 Flight Crew Type 1404 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural FAR Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT Inflight Event / Encounter VFR In IMC |
Narrative:
Flight was on a VFR flight plan westbound across cascade range at 8;500' MSL cavu (clear and visibility unlimited). As I neared the flat terrain on the western side of the cascade range; I could see the tops of the typical low level clouds which were forecast to be dissipating at around this time. Cls AWOS was reporting ceiling 1500' and visibility 9. I could see the edge of the cloudy area and decided to descend in a river valley to below the ceiling for the remaining 25 miles to my destination. Soon after entering below the ceiling; I could not maintain the required cloud clearance/terrain obstruction clearance. To avoid further descent; and assessing that a 180 turn was not possible due to terrain; I began a climb in the direction of the river valley. I entered IMC and broke out about 500' higher.this situation reflects poor judgment on my part and arose because of an incorrect assumption I had about what was under the cloud layer. My home base is in this area and I expected to see the usual; well-defined ceiling with good visibility underneath. This was not the case in this circumstance.I am well aware that continued VFR into IMC is a leading cause of fatal GA accidents. Yet I relied on my belief that I could continue VFR under the cloud layer. Had I not quickly initiated the climb; the result could very well have been a CFIT accident. I will no longer consider a duck under option in the future.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: C150 pilot reported VFR in IMC and CFTT en route when he attempted to duck under the cloud cover to reach the destination airport.
Narrative: Flight was on a VFR flight plan westbound across Cascade Range at 8;500' MSL CAVU (Clear and Visibility Unlimited). As I neared the flat terrain on the western side of the Cascade Range; I could see the tops of the typical low level clouds which were forecast to be dissipating at around this time. CLS AWOS was reporting ceiling 1500' and visibility 9. I could see the edge of the cloudy area and decided to descend in a river valley to below the ceiling for the remaining 25 miles to my destination. Soon after entering below the ceiling; I could not maintain the required cloud clearance/terrain obstruction clearance. To avoid further descent; and assessing that a 180 turn was not possible due to terrain; I began a climb in the direction of the river valley. I entered IMC and broke out about 500' higher.This situation reflects poor judgment on my part and arose because of an incorrect assumption I had about what was under the cloud layer. My home base is in this area and I expected to see the usual; well-defined ceiling with good visibility underneath. This was not the case in this circumstance.I am well aware that continued VFR into IMC is a leading cause of fatal GA accidents. Yet I relied on my belief that I could continue VFR under the cloud layer. Had I not quickly initiated the climb; the result could very well have been a CFIT accident. I will no longer consider a duck under option in the future.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.