Pilot Debrief

Cessna 182T near Green Bay, WI — 2017-01-11

Final reportCEN17LA076
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Date
2017-01-11
Location
Green Bay, WI, USA
Airport
GRB
Aircraft
Cessna 182T
Registration
C-GTBI
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Cruise

Probable cause

The airplane’s encounter with unforecast icing conditions, which led to structural icing that obscured the pilot’s vision, an aerodynamic stall, and a subsequent hard landing.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that, during a cross-country flight, the airplane encountered ice that began to accumulate on the wing and landing gear. He then attempted to divert to another airport. Subsequently, ice accumulated rapidly on the windshield and obscured the pilot's vision. The pilot maneuvered the airplane near the diversion airport for about 45 minutes; however, the weather deteriorated, so the pilot diverted to another airport. The pilot stated that, while attempting to land while looking out the side window, the airplane stalled about 30 ft above the ground, which resulted in a hard landing. A review of weather information for the area where the reported icing encounter occurred revealed no probability of icing at the reported time and altitude of the encounter and only about a 10% chance of trace icing during the hour following the encounter. Based on the available information, the airplane likely encountered unforecast icing during the flight, which resulted in structural icing that obscured the pilot's vision and increased the airplane's stall speed. When the pilot attempted to land, the airplane stalled at a higher-than-expected speed, which resulted in a hard landing.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Environmental
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen to land at ARV before icing conditions worsened.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • ADS-B / radar
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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