DA40 flight instructor reported losing control of aircraft after entering a buildup at night.

Attributes
ACN	1535863
Time
Date	201804
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	BNA.TRACON
State Reference	TN
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	DA40 Diamond Star
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Instructor
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 160 Flight Crew Total 450 Flight Crew Type 380
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

Flying direct to lejco; we entered a buildup that we could not see at night. Student requested to climb to 10000 ft. In the climb student could not control heading. While still in the climb student handed over the controls. Continuing the climb; I could not control heading; we were getting pushed and a gust of wind took over and put us in a sudden uncontrolled bank. Airplane immediately rolled over and pitched down. I regained control at 6500 ft; but turbulence caused us to re lose control. Attempted to gain control of the airplane and made 180 turns and descents. Regained control of the airplane around 3000 ft; and soon broke out of IMC. Flew back to [our departure airport] as normal in VFR. Called TRACON once we were on the ground; to let them know we were safe. It had been clear but gusty all day. Did not see reports by larger aircraft of mod-sev turbulence in that area. I wanted my student to get some actual IMC experience; but did not realize the severity of the buildup. Learned a good lesson about the limits of the aircraft and how fast a build-up can get dangerous.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DA40 Flight Instructor reported losing control of aircraft after entering a buildup at night.

Narrative: Flying direct to LEJCO; we entered a buildup that we could not see at night. Student requested to climb to 10000 ft. In the climb student could not control heading. While still in the climb student handed over the controls. Continuing the climb; I could not control heading; we were getting pushed and a gust of wind took over and put us in a sudden uncontrolled bank. Airplane immediately rolled over and pitched down. I regained control at 6500 ft; but turbulence caused us to re lose control. Attempted to gain control of the airplane and made 180 turns and descents. Regained control of the airplane around 3000 ft; and soon broke out of IMC. Flew back to [our departure airport] as normal in VFR. Called TRACON once we were on the ground; to let them know we were safe. It had been clear but gusty all day. Did not see reports by larger aircraft of mod-sev turbulence in that area. I wanted my student to get some actual IMC experience; but did not realize the severity of the buildup. Learned a good lesson about the limits of the aircraft and how fast a build-up can get dangerous.

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.