C172 INSTRUCTOR BECAME DISORIENTED ON A NIGHT FLT. THE STUDENT'S WIFE; PAX; BECAME HYSTERICAL AND BEGAN SCREAMING.

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THIS WAS A NIGHT TRAINING FLT FROM PAINE FIELD; EVERETT; WA; TO BLI; WA; ABOUT 50 NM. THE FLT WAS VFR. THERE WERE SOME SCATTERED CLOUDS ABOUT 1900 FT BTWN WHIDBEY ISLAND AND JUST N OF SKAGIT BAYVIEW ARPT. WE WERE AT 4500 FT. IT WAS CLR ON TOP OF THE 1900 FT SCATTERED. UPON REACHING BLI; I THOUGHT I KNEW WHERE I WAS AND I DIDN'T PAY ATTN (NOR BELIEVE THEM) TO MY INSTS. I HAVE BEEN THERE SEVERAL TIMES AND ONCE BEFORE AT NIGHT. THE NORTHERN BAY AREA AND THE BLI BAY LOOK EXACTLY ALIKE (ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT!). WE FLEW AROUND LOOKING FOR THE ARPT. WE HAD PLENTY OF FUEL (OVER 4 HRS) AND IT WAS A VERY CLR NIGHT AT BLI. WE FOUND AN ARPT N; BUT I KNEW IT WAS NOT BLI BECAUSE OF RWY ALIGNMENT. (I TURNED THE ACFT TOWARD THE RWY AT 2400 FT.) MEANWHILE; I WAS TRYING TO TUNE INTO THE VOR WHICH THE STUDENT SET TO THE WRONG VOR. I DID NOT NOTICE UNTIL I WAS TRYING TO SEE WHERE WE WERE. WE HAD GPS; BUT I AM NOT VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS INST. IT WAS SET TO GPS AND NOT NAV. (THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE.) THAT IS WHY I COULDN'T RECEIVE THE NAV SIGNAL. MEANWHILE; THE STUDENT PLT BROUGHT HIS WIFE WITH HIM AND AFTER TKOF FROM PAE SHE STARTED SCREAMING SHE WANTED TO GO BACK TO PAE. SHE HAD BEEN FLYING WITH US BEFORE DURING THE DAY AND HAD NO PROB. THE STUDENT CALMED HER DOWN AND WE CONTINUED. I TRIED TO CONVINCE HIM TO GO BACK TO PAE. WHEN WE WERE DSNDING INTO BLI SHE STARTED SCREAMING. AGAIN SHE WANTED TO GO HOME! AND I BELIEVE THIS WAS THE MAJOR CAUSE OF THE DISTR. WHEN WE WERE FLYING NW WE FLEW INTO BOUNDARY BAY AIRSPACE AND WE WERE AT 2400 FT. WE NEVER HAD ANY CLOSE CONFLICT WITH ANY OTHER ACFT. WE WERE IN CONTACT WITH BLI TWR AND HE ASKED US TO 'IDENT' AND TOLD US WE WERE 18 NM NW FROM BLI ARPT. HE THEN VECTORED US TOWARD THE ARPT. AT THAT TIME I HAD FIGURED OUT WHERE WE WERE FROM THE WHATCOM VOR. WE FLEW INTO BLI WITH NO FURTHER INCIDENT. LANDED AND RETURNED TO PAE FIELD WITH NO FURTHER PROBS. IF I WERE TO EXPERIENCE A SIMILAR SIT AGAIN; I WOULD IMMEDIATELY TERMINATE THE FLT AND LAND ASAP. I WOULD ALSO BELIEVE AND TRUST MY INSTS. AFTER AN 8 YR ABSENCE; I RETURNED TO FLYING IN FEBRUARY TO FULL TIME. EVEN WITH FLYING EXPERIENCE; CONTINUOUS DISTRS IN THE COCKPIT CAN LEAD TO POTENTIAL PROBS.