What happened
On 8 July 2025, the pilot of a Piper PA-28R-180 was conducting a private flight between Busselton Airport and Jandakot Airport, Western Australia. The flight was conducted under visual flight rules (VFR)[1] and the pilot held a recreational pilot licence with a navigation endorsement and a controlled aerodrome and airspace endorsement.
Prior to departure the pilot reviewed various aviation weather forecasts, including the Bureau of Meteorology’s graphical and terminal forecasts for Jandakot Airport. For the planned flight, the forecast showed a cloud base no lower than 2,000 ft above mean sea level.
After departure, the pilot maintained a track to Jandakot at 1,300 ft outside of controlled airspace. Remaining clear of cloud, the pilot further assessed the weather by listening to the ATIS[2] for Jandakot prior to entry into controlled airspace at the Oakford reporting point.
When the aircraft then entered controlled airspace, air traffic control (ATC) instructed the pilot to maintain 1,000 ft and conduct orbits to the left of the airport until further specified. The pilot reported that they believed this was due to scheduled IFR arrivals. The aircraft completed 7 orbits to the west before being instructed by ATC to roll out and approach runway 06L.
As the aircraft was rolling out of the orbits, the pilot could see that there was significant low cloud approaching from the east and requested Special VFR from ATC for arrival. Special VFR is a clearance issued by ATC on request from flight crew allowing pilots to operate in weather conditions that are below the VFR minimum requirement. This clearance was granted and the aircraft approached the airport for an overfly of the field. Descending through 700 ft on final approach, the pilot lost sight of the runway and inadvertently entered IMC.[3] The pilot contacted ATC advising that the aircraft was no longer visual with the runway. With ATC assistance, the pilot continued the descent, and at 500 ft reported to the controller that the aircraft was clear of cloud and continued the approach to land on runway 06L. The pilot later reported that the communication with ATC greatly assisted them to feel safe during the inadvertent entry into IMC.
Safety message
VFR into inadvertent IMC is a serious safety issue, and one that is consistently ranked as a top contributor to aviation accidents. The ATSB encourages all pilots, no matter what their experience level, to develop the knowledge and skills required to avoid unintentional operations in IMC.
Flying into cloud is a very confronting experience for a VFR pilot who is relying on visual reference points to orientate their aircraft. If a VFR pilot does enter IMC, utilising resources such as ATC assistance, if available, can help to achieve a safe outcome.
The ATSB booklet Accidents involving Visual Flight Rules pilots in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (AR-2011-050, revised 2019) provides guidance on avoiding VFR into adverse weather.
About this report
Decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, are based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation. For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information. A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report, and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.
[1] Visual flight rules (VFR): a set of regulations that permit a pilot to operate an aircraft only in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going.
[2] Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS): an automated weather service that provides current airport weather information. The ATIS is obtained by flight crew prior to entering controlled airspace.
[3] Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC): weather conditions that require pilots to fly primarily by reference to instruments, and therefore under instrument flight rules, rather than by outside visual reference. Typically, this means flying in cloud or limited visibility.