Page 24 - Volumne 18 Number 5

The pilot of a pressurized ice-certificated turbocharged twin was approaching his home airport. He was level between layers, having already stepped down from cruising altitude. The sky was a cold, gray haze, but he was VMC, at least for the moment.ATIS reported IFR ceilings and visibility with freezing drizzle. The remarks noted that certain runways and taxiways were closed because of ice, and others were open because they had been “treated with deicer.” When he checked in with Approach, the controller reiterated the runway and taxiway conditions, even though the pilot noted on call-up that he had the ATIS. The pilot asked if there were any recent PIREPs from the terminal area and got an affirmative response: a Boeing 737 departing the pilot’s destination airport reported light icing on climbout, and a Cessna Conquest turboprop, taking off from a reliever airport about seven miles from the arriving pilot’s destination, reported light mixed icing in the cloud layers during his departure.The pilot then reached a critical decision point. The Approach controller asked that loaded question – “What are your intentions?” – and the pilot said he was continuing to his destination. He was cleared for the approach.The pilot later said he turned on all ice protection equipment before descending into the lower cloud layer22 • TWIN & TURBINEduring vectors for the approach. He said he did not see ice forming on his airplane’s wings...they were later found to be covered with over an inch of clear ice, which may be hard to see in low light. What troubled the pilot most was that, although his windshield “hot plate” deicer was working before he entered the clouds, the twin’s windshield (including the deiced portion) became opaque with ice after a brief time in the clouds. He broke out a little above minimums and could see out the side windows, but had no vision toward the runway. The pilot then decided to go around; as he pitched the airplane into the climb attitude the aircraft stalled and impacted, flat, on the ground about 400 feet short of the runway.The pilot and a passenger were miraculously unhurt. The crash has not yet appeared in NTSB preliminary reports, but I’ve spoken with the pilot and he has a very good attitude about training and flying again, including a willingness to help others learn from his experience. He trains frequently. There were a number of factors, however, that may have caused him to decide to continue his approach, or more correctly, not decide to head to an alternate (continuing as planned may be considered the result of not making a decision). In retrospect, he admits, he knows he should not have attempted an approach under those conditions.What about the PIREPs from departing airplanes? They called the ice accumulation “light.” The trouble is, each of those airplanes – a transport category jet and a turboprop – was taking off. They were exposed to the lower-level ice for only a very short time as they quickly climbed into the clearer air above. The accident airplane, on the other hand, was in the lower clouds and exposed to icing for a total of 11 minutes before stalling short of the runway, according to FAA sources.Why didn’t the pilot fully evaluate the weather, compare conditions to his airplane’s limitations, and take the controller’s hint that perhaps he should consider going somewhere else? The key, I believe, is the inherent difference between the way we approach training events and how we conduct our day-to-day flying. As I co-wrote with Dr. Lorne Sheren in the November 2011 AOPA Pilot, pilots are pessimists when we train, and optimists when we fly. During instruction we’re spring-loaded to look for anomalies and indications of problems. We expect (simulated) engine failures and partial panelMAY 2014Twin Proficiency:Fly Like