Loss of control - VH-BTD, Piper PA-31 Navajo, 50 km north of Cairns, Queensland, on 2 December 2006

During an approach into Cairns Airport, Qld in overcast conditions late on the morning of 2 December 2006, the pilot of a Piper Navajo aircraft, registered VH-BTD, lost control of the aircraft and entered an uncontrolled descent. Control of the aircraft was regained shortly before the pilot became visual below the cloud base, and the pilot continued to Cairns.

The loss of control was the result of the pilot's inexperience with respect to the effects of spatial disorientation and with flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).

This occurrence reaffirms the potential for spatial disorientation, if not recognised and recovered from appropriately, to result in the loss of aircraft control.