The pilot reported that, while in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), the Cessna 182 started accumulating ice on the wings and windshield. He informed air traffic control (ATC) and requested to be diverted.
ATC vectored him to the airport in Broomfield, Colorado, for an instrument approach. Following completion of the instrument approach, while the airplane was about 10 feet above the runway, it stalled and landed hard on the runway. The pilot taxied to the ramp without further incident.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.
The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA-H-8083-25B, provides information and guidance in a section titled “Stalls” which stated, in part: As little as 0.8 millimeter of ice on the upper wing surface increases drag and reduces aircraft lift by 25%.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s inadvertent flight into icing conditions, which resulted in the accumulation of structural icing and an aerodynamic stall.
This November 2019 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
He did the best he could,Thank the Lord he wasn’t killed.
Iced a M20C at night, un-forecast IMC, going into Pueblo, CO. Had to reduce to 1800 rpm, engine vibration was reaching critical mass. Pitot was froze, getting ground speed from ATC, and couldn’t maintain altitude. Got vectored direct to FAF, touched nothing until about 5 feet above the numbers and then dropped the gear. The prop looked like huge baseball bats, about an inch and a quarter on the leading surfaces. Airframe handled it surprisingly well.
Is it trained that you should increase landing speed if you have ice accumulation?
It was 50 years ago…and especially for the instrument rating. Approach speeds were to be kept higher (often above max gear or flap extension speeds), and the aircraft was to be kept as clean as possible until the last possible few seconds. Ice ain’t nice, except in cheap bourbon.
This is included in the C182S POH emergency section, Inadvertent Icing Encounter: “Leave wing flaps retracted” – “Approach at 80 to 90 KIAS” (normal range is 60-70).