In November 2014, a Cessna 172 took off from Winchester, Virginia (elevation 726 feet mean sea level), on the second leg of a dual night cross-country. Radar data showed it maintaining a straight ground track, a steady airspeed, and a constant altitude of 3,000 feet for the next 37 minutes—until its progress was interrupted by a ridge 3,400 feet high. The student survived and was rescued the following morning. The instructor wasn’t as lucky.
Other CFIs who’d known the instructor were baffled. They characterized him as “cautious,” “thorough,” and “terrain-conscious.” No one understood how his student was allowed to establish the airplane at an altitude not just hundreds of feet below the maximum elevation figures (MEF) in mountainous terrain, but 800 feet lower than the elevation of the destination airport in Hot Springs, Virginia.
Unfortunately, these uncharacteristic lapses aren’t as rare as might be hoped, and too often catch pilots who are more than experienced enough to know better.
A designated pilot examiner on his way home from giving a Sport Pilot checkride flew his Cherokee 140 into a cliff in northeastern New York. The accident occurred 40 minutes after sunset, and the wreckage was found 600 feet below the summit.
A Commander 690A took off from Mesa, Arizona, an hour after sunset, climbed to 4,500 feet, and flew straight and level into a 5,000-foot mountain. The 1,150-hour commercial pilot preferred to navigate using the moving map on his iPad, but this time inbound traffic required him to maintain runway heading for a couple of miles before he could intercept the GPS-direct course. Those two miles were the difference between missing and hitting the hill.
This is what’s meant by “loss of situational awareness.” Although the potential for mischief peaks (sorry) in the mountains at night, the remedies are far less obscure than the landscape. It’s good to know where you are and where you’re going, but the most crucial step is choosing your cruising altitude during preflight planning. Add at least 1,000 feet to all relevant MEFs and stay there until you see your destination—even if you get lost, you won’t hit whatever’s a thousand feet below.
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