[poetpilot]

Doesn't even have to be crossed controls or stall/spin...

Taking off in a crosswind, (or for that matter going around), you'll want a higher airspeed to get good control authority, but you should also allow the aircraft to weathercock once airborne to maintain runway track.

It's easy to forget this after a difficult and pressured flight (i.e. other factors and issues have clouded and wearied the pilot's mind). Agree with all other comments re: decisionmaking in the earlier stages of the flight. Holes in the cheese and all that...

Coupled with no flaps, therefore a slower climb rate and bye bye tower and aeroplane.

[Flyingfemme]

Obviously get the weather; 1-800-wx-brief is still free and the operators are very helpful.

I'm a little confused about the clearance and altitude thing...........without an IR the flight should have been filed DVFR. VFR flight is at your choice of altitude and you don't go into a cloud (outside the UK). Tell ATC what you are doing (and why) then get the heck out of the way of the cloud.

[peterh337]

Yes, it doesn't really read "right". Did this pilot get any kind of weather briefing? If not, all bets are off and there isn't a lot to discuss apart from that he should obviously have turned back once the conditions became meaningless.

Mind you, one could make exactly this comment on a lot of fatal accidents.

[MichaelJP59]

Are these TWDs real-world cases or hypotheticals? If it is real there seem to be a lot of details that must be speculative?

[dont overfill]

The modern C182 has an automatic alternate air so intake icing I think is unlikely.
The strong northerly may have blown them towards the mast if they were using the easterly runway. Under normal circumstances a C182 has more than enough power for a go around however there is a small hill at the departure end of the runway on which the mast is mounted. Could this have created a false horizon causing the pilot to use excessive pitch? It can be easy to forget to get the aircraft back in balance on the go around despite the quivering right leg which could make matters worse. I wonder how switched on the instructor really was as there is no requirement for a squawk outbound the US, only on the way back.
The G1000 calculates the wind for you and gives a readout on both screens so pilot X should have been aware if it was in limits however I have doubts he had enough time on the checkout to learn even the basics.
I assume the 40 minutes from Orlando is a typo, more like 1.40. Also I'm sure Walkers ceased to be an airport of entry before G1000 Cessnas came out.
Pedantic mode off.
DO.

[mpk]

With a wing in the Cessna down and the other up it uld be very hard to see the mast. Sharks fin soup anyone?!!

[KNT754G]

But the wind was from the north and the mast at the south east of the aerodrome, so the mast was on the up wing (down wind) side and should have been visible.

[William]

Where did pilot X go wrong? He flew!

What could he have done to avoid the accident? Stayed on the ground!

Seriously - what on earth was he doing there under those conditions?

[Morley]

Not enough info in my opinion to know what X did wrong but assuming the aircraft caused the broken mast and that would be enough to down it LOC following that collision would seem logical. LOC caused by loss of situational awareness caused by Stress caused by high workload caused by bad decision to fly in the first place.
Theres also the possibility X was exploring a poss approach to a taxiway more into wind and neglected to take into account obstacles.
What could he have done? Assuming the crosswind was beyond the capabilities of the aircraft he needed to put the aircraft down somewhere more into wind like a field. Taking obstacles into account of course!

[francociulli]

As usual a catastrophy is a collection of errors which if reversed at any stage could have interrupted the viscious cycle leading to disaster. An enjoyable part of flying I find is preparing for a flight in an unfamiliar area, studying the airfields, prevalent wind conditions, researching blogs of pilots who have flown similar routes etc. including of course the normal pre-flight planning. This seems to have been lacking to start with for this flight.
The next phase was flight itself. An experienced non commercial flight crew would not have entered IMC, would have diverted or even returned to base and declared an emergency with that amount of icing; in simple terms would not have been there in the first place.
On approach another opportunity was missed by not refusing the airfiled and heading to an alternate given the difficulties with cross wind, unfamiliar aircraft and state of mind of both pilots. Another difficult approach not surprisingly ended in tragedy. The main reason I think would be down to pilot overload and aircraft at its crosswing limit. Cross controls makes for a a very tricky approach in those circumstances as would another go around. Having taken out an aerial mast they may have overshot the runway although unlikey given its length or made a late decision to abort the landing, stalling while trying to recover height.
What I have learnt: Don't skim on good preparation and planning. Don't fly in conditions which are too challenging for pilot/aircraft unit. Don't be scared to admitt defeat and turn around... better to be down here wishing you were up there rather than being up there wishing you were down here....
While this may be a shark's tale (excuse the pun) it is very conceivable that such a sequence of events could happen and lead to fatalities. I am new to this forum and have enjoyed it very much. It ceratinly gets you thinking!!