BT,

not when you are already scud running and can't see that rock... if they
had
been up at altitude and already above MEA.. then they would not have hit
the
rock so fast.. might have been able to handle the in-flight fire.. or at
least had time to handle it.. scud running low altitude is not the best
time
to get an in-flight emergency..

There was no 'in-flight fire (according to the evidence and the NTSB).
These guys scud ran for about 30 miles down 101 (I saw the RADAR plot),
turned left into a valleyish kind of area (where they crashed), encountered
worsening conditions (see rescuers' reports), went full power (see NTSB
report) and hit the ground. There was no physical evidence of fire (see
NTSB report), nor were the throttle and mixture positioned to indicate a
fire (see NTSB report).

On top of all that, the assertion by the CFI that after scud-running, flying
in a valley in worsening weather conditions, about to pick up an IFR
clearence - that "He could not recall the airplane's flight altitude or
configuration because he was not the one flying."... Sure...

Hilton