Narrative:

This was an FAA flight review. After performing some maneuvers in the local practice area; the pilot stated that he wanted to practice basic pilotage and dead-reckoning skills to navigate [to a nearby] airport about 16 miles further away in mountainous terrain. We were monitoring and had been making radio calls on the practice area CTAF 122.75 -- an area known for a high level of congestion due to training flights. We had made a radio call a few minutes earlier while maneuvering. I did not hear a radio call from the other aircraft; although they may have made one (perhaps also a few minutes earlier).pilot flying was studying his sectional chart and comparing what he saw to landmarks and terrain. He was telling me how he was deriving our pilotage route to airport; and I looked over at his chart. When I looked up a few seconds later; I saw a [small aircraft] at our 10 to 11 o'clock on a path to pass in front of us and very near our altitude (maybe 50 to 100 ft lower; and estimated 500 to 1000 ft away at this point). I called out and grabbed the yoke and pulled up (it looked like the other aircraft was slightly lower than us); but for some reason I also sort of 'froze' and did not respond as aggressively as I should have. (My 'pull up' was more of a 'gentle back pressure' to start a climb; perhaps because I could see that that would be sufficient to miss the other airplane as long as the other pilot didn't climb suddenly.) pilot flying then looked up and also pulled on the yoke. At this time the pilot of the other aircraft appeared to see us for the first time and he dove and turned away. Had we been at the exact same altitude; I think we would have collided.I believe we were still tuned to 122.75 but neither of us had the wherewithal to make a radio call to the other aircraft. There was no time to make a call before the encounter; but it would have been good to make a call afterward and exchange tail numbers and phone numbers so we could discuss the situation later on the ground.lesson: if there are two people in the aircraft; make use of one to be looking for traffic while the other is studying the chart. Although we both had our heads down for only a few seconds; neither of us was looking out the window during those few seconds; and we were flying at 140 mph in (class east) airspace marked on the sectional as an area where high-intensity training activity takes place. We were ahead and to the right of the other aircraft; so we technically had the right of way; but right of way rules mean nothing if the planes are not even seen.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Skylane 182 Instructor and BFR pilot reported a close conflict with another light aircraft at 3;000 FT in the vicinity of HIO.

Narrative: This was an FAA flight review. After performing some maneuvers in the local practice area; the pilot stated that he wanted to practice basic pilotage and dead-reckoning skills to navigate [to a nearby] airport about 16 miles further away in mountainous terrain. We were monitoring and had been making radio calls on the practice area CTAF 122.75 -- an area known for a high level of congestion due to training flights. We had made a radio call a few minutes earlier while maneuvering. I did not hear a radio call from the other aircraft; although they may have made one (perhaps also a few minutes earlier).Pilot flying was studying his sectional chart and comparing what he saw to landmarks and terrain. He was telling me how he was deriving our pilotage route to airport; and I looked over at his chart. When I looked up a few seconds later; I saw a [small aircraft] at our 10 to 11 o'clock on a path to pass in front of us and very near our altitude (maybe 50 to 100 FT lower; and estimated 500 to 1000 FT away at this point). I called out and grabbed the yoke and pulled up (it looked like the other aircraft was slightly lower than us); but for some reason I also sort of 'froze' and did not respond as aggressively as I should have. (My 'pull up' was more of a 'gentle back pressure' to start a climb; perhaps because I could see that that would be sufficient to miss the other airplane as long as the other pilot didn't climb suddenly.) Pilot flying then looked up and also pulled on the yoke. At this time the pilot of the other aircraft appeared to see us for the first time and he dove and turned away. Had we been at the exact same altitude; I think we would have collided.I believe we were still tuned to 122.75 but neither of us had the wherewithal to make a radio call to the other aircraft. There was no time to make a call before the encounter; but it would have been good to make a call afterward and exchange tail numbers and phone numbers so we could discuss the situation later on the ground.Lesson: If there are two people in the aircraft; make use of one to be looking for traffic while the other is studying the chart. Although we both had our heads down for only a few seconds; neither of us was looking out the window during those few seconds; and we were flying at 140 MPH in (Class E) airspace marked on the sectional as an area where high-intensity training activity takes place. We were ahead and to the right of the other aircraft; so we technically had the right of way; but right of way rules mean nothing if the planes are not even seen.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.