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A bk-117 pilot suffered disorientation and vertigo on a dark night flight and descended within 400 ft off the surface before realizing his dilemma and regaining control and a safe altitude.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 971467 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201109 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | MBB-BK 117 All Series |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Rotorcraft Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Instructor |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 80 Flight Crew Total 10000 Flight Crew Type 2500 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control |
Narrative:
While enroute to pick up a patient I encountered a visual illusion of a false horizon resulting in a right descending turn. At approximately 400 AGL I recognized the conflict between what appeared to be happening and what the instruments were telling me. I initiated an immediate climb. Since; for most of our operational area; the MSA is 2;000 MSL this was my default target altitude.after arriving at that altitude and giving myself time to master control of the aircraft by instruments; I confirmed my position with my dual GPS systems as well out over the water. I then descended to 1;200 MSL at which altitude I reestablished VFR flight and returned to my home airport.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A BK-117 pilot suffered disorientation and vertigo on a dark night flight and descended within 400 FT off the surface before realizing his dilemma and regaining control and a safe altitude.
Narrative: While enroute to pick up a patient I encountered a visual illusion of a false horizon resulting in a right descending turn. At approximately 400 AGL I recognized the conflict between what appeared to be happening and what the instruments were telling me. I initiated an immediate climb. Since; for most of our operational area; the MSA is 2;000 MSL this was my default target altitude.After arriving at that altitude and giving myself time to master control of the aircraft by instruments; I confirmed my position with my dual GPS systems as well out over the water. I then descended to 1;200 MSL at which altitude I reestablished VFR flight and returned to my home airport.
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.