This is more of a piloting story. I was a passenger on a C172SP. My friend, an IFR-rated pilot with few IMC (instrument conditions) hours. We are on downwind (opposite direction of landing traffic) and drop into the clouds at 2400 feet on the ILS into MOD with weather down to minimums...200 foot ceilings and 3/4 mile vis (1/2 mile is min for CAT I ILS). The course navigation needles (CDI) better be perfectly centered going down to minimums. We get vectored around and just to make it a shorter, more palpable story, he got the typical approach clearance...."turn left heading XXX, maintain 2200 until established on the localizer, cleared for the Modesto ILS." Well he had us 100 feet below the glide slow, airspeed -5 knots, 45 degree course intercept (20 is normal), 45 degree bank going perpendicular to the localizer (17 is standard in cruise and very large at this stage in IMC) and 20 degrees off our cleared heading. I told him this a few times at which point it was clear he was about 25 minutes behind the plane and completely lost. I told him go missed. He didn't. I say it again and he started to wonder....too late, I say "My plane NOW." I'm not a instrument flight instructor but I'm not about to go inverted in IMC or go into a pole in the middle of nowhere. I level the wings and then start the climb. Airspeed drops off, stall horn chirps right as I'm pushing the nose down. When I asked for control, he had just put in near full power to climb but had pulled the power out for some reason when he gave me control. I add full power and climb into visual conditions where I told Norcal to "standby." Not good. Scared the hell out of me. Fortunately I'm instrument rated, current and proficient otherwise I'd be in an NTSB report. I'm seriously thinking about becoming a CFI and CFII. Oh, that night I had quite a few Belgium beers so all turned out well.

I now see how non-instrument rated pilots (or VFR into IMC incidents) last about 40 seconds from entering IMC to the time of impact. Scary. Very scary.