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A C182 pilot flew into precipitation and suddenly began accumulating ice which required that an emergency be declared and that he descend out of icing with full power to land at the nearest airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 982518 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201111 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | IMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Skylane 182/RG Turbo Skylane/RG |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 15 Flight Crew Total 357 Flight Crew Type 100 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Speed All Types Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
I had flown through precipitation and only picked up light rime ice on the aircraft. I was cruising at 4;000 MSL and found an area between layers that allowed for no ice accumulation. Once I was clear of precipitation I encountered another area of IMC. Ice did not seem to be accumulating any at all. Suddenly I felt an oscillation in the aircraft. Upon disengaging the autopilot I discovered the controls were very heavy. I also noticed my indicated airspeed had deteriorated. I immediately requested the nearest airport with a precision approach to land. ATC suggested a nearby airport and I began to setup for the approach. However; I had to pitch the nose down and increase power to full in order to keep airspeed in the green arc. It became clear I could not maintain altitude. The controller declared an emergency. Upon reaching 1;700 MSL I broke out of the clouds and had unrestricted visibility and could see the ground. Shortly after reaching VFR the accumulated ice shed from the aircraft and normal performance was restored. I proceeded to the airport and landed. There was a center weather advisory for possible icing; however it had expired by the time I departed. Additionally; there were pireps reporting no ice.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A C182 pilot flew into precipitation and suddenly began accumulating ice which required that an emergency be declared and that he descend out of icing with full power to land at the nearest airport.
Narrative: I had flown through precipitation and only picked up light rime ice on the aircraft. I was cruising at 4;000 MSL and found an area between layers that allowed for no ice accumulation. Once I was clear of precipitation I encountered another area of IMC. Ice did not seem to be accumulating any at all. Suddenly I felt an oscillation in the aircraft. Upon disengaging the autopilot I discovered the controls were very heavy. I also noticed my indicated airspeed had deteriorated. I immediately requested the nearest airport with a precision approach to land. ATC suggested a nearby airport and I began to setup for the approach. However; I had to pitch the nose down and increase power to full in order to keep airspeed in the green arc. It became clear I could not maintain altitude. The Controller declared an emergency. Upon reaching 1;700 MSL I broke out of the clouds and had unrestricted visibility and could see the ground. Shortly after reaching VFR the accumulated ice shed from the aircraft and normal performance was restored. I proceeded to the airport and landed. There was a center weather advisory for possible icing; however it had expired by the time I departed. Additionally; there were PIREPs reporting no ice.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.