Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 40; Flight Crew Total 770; Flight Crew Type 50
Confusion; Situational Awareness
Airspace Violation All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Airspace Structure; Weather
I was given Runway 10 at [departure airport] and then a left turn. My destination was ZZZ. This was not my usual departure runway and it took me further east and north than I usually fly before going northwest to join the northbound 7500 feet VFR corridor. There was a TFR that night for a baseball game. I was flying northwest with enough room to skirt the TFR. I encountered severe turbulence that resulted in multiple deflections of the aircraft of more than 45 degrees of bank and 20 degrees of yaw; with loss of altitude of several hundred feet. For several minutes; I don't know exactly how long; I fought the controls and just tried to maintain a level flight attitude and avoid losing too much altitude; which required full power and Vy. When the turbulence subsided I was flying more to the north-northwest; but I did not immediately realize how close I was to the TFR because I was pretty shaken up by the severity of the turbulence event. When I looked down to the right and looked at the stadium lights; I realized that I was closer than what would have looked to be a correct distance. I checked my ForeFlight iPhone and found that I had flown just inside of the edge of the TFR.I had not brought my full iPad and mount on the flight because it was such a familiar area to me; and I fly between the two airports frequently. If I had been following ForeFlight actively; I would have had a constant visual reminder of my position during the turbulence event. As it was; I lost situational awareness both during the event and for a time afterward that it took to calm down from what was some of the worst turbulence I have been in.
A Cessna 172 pilot reported that due to severe weather conditions he inadvertently flew into a TFR.