Inadvertant IMC - DG1000, Manawatu, New Zealand

Outside controlled airspace, I believe the air regulations in various countries only require "clear of cloud" when below 1000' AGL.

Turning upwind into cloud brings on some navigational challenges, even if you have the instruments and skills.Turning back in cloud to parallel an invisible ridge or try to regain visual in a strong wind before smacking a rock is a crapshoot. Any airway in a mountainous region has a minimum 2000' AGL clearance over terrain.

In defense of the pilots, the camera has a limited view. My impression is that it was severe clear above until sink put them into the soup.

This happens more often than you might think.

At a club where I used to fly there is a chief flight instructor who does this on a regular basis. Apparently the entire board of directors at that club is scared ****less to call him out on it. He did it three times with students two of whom are not rated at all in the space of a single day. He's an accident waiting for a chance to happen.

Even with an appropriately equipped and certified aircraft there's a difference between being instrument rated and instrument proficient.

On Sunday, November 22, 2020 at 4:18:04 PM UTC-8, wrote:
Outside controlled airspace, I believe the air regulations in various countries only require "clear of cloud" when below 1000' AGL.

Turning upwind into cloud brings on some navigational challenges, even if you have the instruments and skills.Turning back in cloud to parallel an invisible ridge or try to regain visual in a strong wind before smacking a rock is a crapshoot. Any airway in a mountainous region has a minimum 2000' AGL clearance over terrain.

In defense of the pilots, the camera has a limited view. My impression is that it was severe clear above until sink put them into the soup.

Well, it definitely wasn't "severe clear" above them as the video showed clouds well above their altitude. The specific glider cloud clearance regulation is (http://gliding.co.nz/wp-content/uplo...AP-AL-26.pdf):

104.55 Clearance Below Cloud
Notwithstanding 91.301(a)(2), the pilot of a glider, above an altitude of 3,000 feet and above
a height of 1,000 feet, but below an altitude of 11,000 feet, shall fly no closer than 500 feet
below cloud within Class E or G airspace.
This allows a glider to fly closer to cloud than the 1000 ft otherwise permitted in these
circumstances.

Note that this says BELOW the cloud - there is no regulation for flying ABOVE the cloud in this manual. In the general regulations, the clearance is 1,000 ft when above 3,000 ft MSL (https://www.caa.govt.nz/assets/rules...olidation.pdf), which they weren't complying with at any time in the video.

Tom