The occasional audible swoosh of ice departing the propellers and the bang of that ice hitting the fuselage provided the only comforting moments of this flight. How did I get here? Countless times when growing up I would look up from the ground at an airplane flying overhead and wish I were up there. This was the first time while flying that I wished I were on the ground. Would I return to the Earth again without incident? In all my years of flying I had never doubted the outcome of a flight more.
I Learned About Flying From That: Experience Versus Luck
Key Takeaways:
- The pilot encountered severe and unforecasted icing conditions shortly after takeoff in a non-deiced aircraft, rapidly putting the flight into a critical situation.
- Faced with rapid ice accumulation and a busy frequency of other icing emergencies, the pilot made the critical decision to divert directly to his filed destination for a quicker approach.
- Despite a heavily iced airframe and a completely obscured windshield requiring a scraped viewing hole, the pilot skillfully landed the plane, learning crucial lessons about diligently rechecking weather for unforecasted conditions and understanding specific icing dynamics.
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