A single engine cessna pilot was unable to maintain altitude as a result of orographic activity over...

Attributes
ACN	878210
Time
Date	201003
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	LAS.Airport
State Reference	NV
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft High Wing 1 Eng Fixed Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	Visual Approach
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 25 Flight Crew Total 100 Flight Crew Type 20
Events
Anomaly	Airspace Violation All Types Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

We were flying from grand canyon to las; via peach springs; and we certainly knew about the rules in class B. The problem was that when we reached the mountains south of henderson; we encountered turbulence that made our airplane sink 800 feet per minute. Firstly; I thought that I had a mechanical problem; so I tried to keep it in control and stop its descent; but after a while; I realized that it was not controllable. I made a 360 to avoid the higher terrain. When I got it in control again; I preferred to keep ground surface clearance. Then; I wanted to contact henderson tower but contact was not possible. I tried to keep the aircraft under control and I squawked 7600 to let the ATC know that I was in the B airspace for that reason. Finally; I saw that the radio switch was not correctly engaged. I established contact with tower then.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A single engine Cessna pilot was unable to maintain altitude as a result of orographic activity over mountains around LAS. As a result the aircraft descended into the LAS Class B before the descent could be arrested.

Narrative: We were flying from Grand Canyon to LAS; via Peach Springs; and we certainly knew about the rules in Class B. The problem was that when we reached the mountains south of Henderson; we encountered turbulence that made our airplane sink 800 feet per minute. Firstly; I thought that I had a mechanical problem; so I tried to keep it in control and stop its descent; but after a while; I realized that it was not controllable. I made a 360 to avoid the higher terrain. When I got it in control again; I preferred to keep ground surface clearance. Then; I wanted to contact Henderson Tower but contact was not possible. I tried to keep the aircraft under control and I squawked 7600 to let the ATC know that I was in the B Airspace for that reason. Finally; I saw that the radio switch was not correctly engaged. I established contact with Tower then.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

A single engine cessna pilot was unable to maintain altitude as a result of orographic activity over mountains around las. As a result the aircraft descended into the las class B before the descent could be arrested.