STUDENT PLT ON SOLO XCOUNTRY FLT ENCOUNTERS DETERIORATING WX BUT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE IT IN TIME TO AVOID BEING VFR IN IMC. AS HE SEARCHES FOR A FREQ TO MAKE CONTACT WITH ATC; HE HEARS A THUMP. HE CLBS TO AVOID THE WX AND THE MOUNTAINS AND TURNS TOWARD BETTER WX.

Narrative

I WAS FLYING N FROM PULLMAN MOSCOW ARPT. MY CRUISE ALT WAS 6500 FT AGL ON MY ALTIMETER. ALTIMETER SET AT PULLMAN AFTER RECEIVING INFO FROM SEATTLE RADIO WHEN ACTIVATING FLT PLAN. FLT WAS GOING AS PLANNED. I STARTED TO PREPARE FOR APCH AND INITIAL CONTACT WITH FELTS FIELD ATC; AFTER PASSING MY FINAL CHK POINT (FAIRFIELD) BEFORE RADIO COM WITH FELTS FIELD ATC OVER MICA. I HAD BEEN LISTENING AND RECORDING ATIS INFO XX BEFORE FAIRFIELD CHK POINT AND SWITCH OVER TO SPOKANE APCH TO MONITOR TFC AND CONDITIONS IN THE AREA OF SPOKANE. I REACH 3600 FT AROUND FREEMAN WHICH WAS ROUGHLY 2000 FT ABOVE THE GND LOOKING DOWN AND I WAS STARTING TO SEE MIST AHEAD AROUND THE HILLS. I SWITCH OVER TO FELTS FIELD TO MONITOR TFC AT THE ARPT. I WAS SWITCHING BACK AND FORTH BTWN SPOKANE APCH AND FELTS FIELD ATC TO MONITOR TFC AND LEARN ANYTHING I COULD ABOUT CONDITIONS IN AND AROUND SPOKANE. I ALIGNED THE PLANE TO PASSING OVER MICA AND INTO THE SPOKANE VALLEY. I WAS ABOUT 5 MI FROM PASSING OVER THE HILLS; MAKING MY RADIO CALL TO FELTS FIELD ATC; AND I COULD SEE THE VALLEY. THE VIEW INTO THE VALLEY WAS NOT COMPLETELY CLR AND I DECIDE TO CHK ATIS ONE MORE TIME TO CONFIRM WX CONDITIONS IN THE SPOKANE VALLEY AND FELTS FIELD. I CONTINUED ON MY COURSE AND I COULD SEE INTO THE VALLEY BUT THE MIST SEEMS TO BE GETTING HEAVIER. I WAS GETTING CLOSE TO THE POINT OF MAKING MY CALL TO FELTS FIELD ATC; AND I NEEDED TO MAKE A DECISION OF TURNING AROUND OR CONTINUING BASED ON THE WX CONDITIONS AHEAD. THE WX DID NOT SEEM NOW WHAT WAS BEING RPTED EARLIER FROM DUAT; FAA FLT PLANNING; OR ATIS. I WANTED TO CONFIRM WX CONDITION ONCE MORE TO ENSURE I WAS WITHIN MY SAFE FLYING LIMITATIONS; FAA'S; AND STATE REQUIREMENTS BEFORE CONTACTING FELTS FIELD. IF I WAS TO TURN AROUND DUE TO WX; AND I WAS THINKING STRONGLY OF TURNING AROUND; I DID NOT WANT TO INTERFERE WITH RADIO TFC AT FELTS FIELD. I LOOKED DOWN TO MY NAV CHART TO GET ATIS FREQ WHEN I REMEMBERED ATIS RADIO FREQ WAS RECORDED ON MY FLT NOTES. I REACH DOWN TO PICK UP MY CLIPBOARD; LIFT UP THE FELTS FIELD MAP COVERING MY COURSE INFO; AND STARTED TO PUT IN THE RADIO FREQ FOR ATIS WHEN I HEARD A THUMP ON THE PLANE. I LOOKED UP AND WAS PULLING BACK ON THE YOKE AT THE SAME TIME. I COULD NOT SEE ANYTHING CLRLY. WHEN I WAS LOOKING DOWN FOR THE RADIO FREQ; I MUST HAVE TURNED TOWARDS THE HILLS SOME 3000 FT TO MY R SIDE AND INTO THE MIST I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT AROUND THE TOP OF THEM. I IMMEDIATELY LOOKED AT MY FLT INSTS TO SEE WHAT MY ORIENTATION WAS AND TO MAKE SURE THE PLANE WAS FLYING ON COURSE AND LEVEL. I MADE CORRECTIONS FROM CLBING TO LEVEL FLT. I WAS NOT COMING OUT OF THE MIST AND I WAS CONCERNED WHERE I WAS IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE HILLS THAT I WAS PASSING BTWN ORIGINALLY; SO I STARTED A NORMAL CLB. I PULLED BACK TOO FAR AND THE STALL INDICATOR WAS COMING ON. I PUSHED THE CTL WHEEL FORWARD BUT NOW THE ATTITUDE INDICATOR WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE. I LET GO OF THE CTL WHEEL TO LET THE PLANE CORRECT ITSELF (LESSON TOLD TO ME BY CHIEF FLT INSTRUCTOR) AND PLANE CAME BACK TO LEVEL FLT. I THEN STARTED A NORMAL CLB AGAIN; XCHKING SPD INDICATOR; TURN COORDINATOR; ATTITUDE INDICATOR; BECAUSE I STILL DID NOT KNOW WHERE I WAS AND I COULD NOT SEE ANYTHING. ABOUT 3-5 MINS LATER I CAME OUT OF THE CLOUDS AT AROUND 6000 FT ON MY ALTIMETER. I MADE A COURSE CORRECTION TO A HEADING OF S BECAUSE I COULD SEE THE GND TO MY R AND I CONTINUED TO CLB TO 6500 FT. I WAS STILL UNCERTAIN WHAT THE THUMP WAS AND I WAS STARTING A VISUAL CHK OF THE PLANE. I ALSO WANTED TO GET BACK OVER CLR VIEW OF THE GND; WHICH I KNEW WAS TO THE S OR IN THE DIRECTION I CAME FROM. I WAS ABLE TO VISUALLY SEE THE GND; WITHOUT WX OBSTRUCTION; WITHIN A MIN OF MAKING MY TURN TO THE S. AT THIS TIME I NOTICED MY LEADING FAR OUTSIDE EDGE OF THE L WING WAS DAMAGED. I CONTINUED TO MONITOR THE PLANE AND CHKED INSTS FOR SIGNS OF NEEDING TO MAKE AN EMER LNDG. PLANE WAS RESPONDING WITHOUT PROBS AND DID NOT WANT TO FLY BACK INTO THE QUESTIONABLE WX OF SPOKANE. I SET MY VOR FOR A COURSE BACK TO PULLMAN AND LANDED AT PULLMAN MOSCOW ARPT. UPON SEEING PULLMAN MOSCOW ARPT I CLOSED MY FLT PLAN WITH SEATTLE RADIO. AFTER LNDG I CONTACTED FBO STAFF TO RPT INCIDENT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES THAT THERE WAS NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO THE ACFT. THE OUTBOARD PANEL OF THE LEADING EDGE OF THE L WING HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE ACFT WAS A C152. RPTR HAS SINCE HAD MORE TRAINING WITH HIS FLT INSTRUCTOR REGARDING COCKPIT MGMNT; HAVING THE INFO YOU NEED AVAILABLE IN AN ORGANIZED FASHION. INSTRUCTION REGARDING COCKPIT DISTR AND DEALING WITH IT HAS ALSO BEEN GIVEN. WHEN TO DIVERT AND NOT CONTINUE IN STRAIGHT FLT REGARDING WX CHANGES HAD BEEN WORKED ON AS WELL. THE FAA HAS REQUESTED A MEETING WITH RPTR AND FLT SCHOOL REPRESENTATIVE REGARDING THE TRAINING PROCS OF THE FLT SCHOOL AND WHY A STUDENT PLT WOULD BE SENT OUT IN SUCH CONDITIONS. THE RPTS WERE NOT GIVING MARGINAL WX; BUT FOR SUCH A LOW TIME STUDENT IT WAS QUESTIONABLE ENOUGH NOT TO HAVE SENT HIM. FAA WANTS TO ASSURE THE PROCS OF THE FLT SCHOOL ARE ALLOWING FOR PROPER TRAINING.