Fatal Icing Encounter

1960 Cessna 210 Lubbock Texas 26 Oct. 2020
ATC Audio begins at 7:25
LINKS:
VASAviation:
• Cessna Centurion crash...
LiveATC.net:
www.liveatc.net/
METAR Decode:
www.ncdc.noaa.gov/orders/qclc...

[@matthewjohnson2428]

One other teachable point not mentioned, is that the centurion slowed to final approach speed and he did so early. If you're in icing, especially when you have an 11,000ft runway, KEEP YOUR SPEED UP! Procedure for my aircraft if we have a boot failure in icing is flying an airspeed a full 50kts faster than our normal final approach speed! If your wings are contaminated and your plane is getting heavy, high airspeeds are your best friend because the stall angle of attack is decreasing rapidly and the speeds requires to maintain it are going to rise as well.

[@cscinc]

I've commented on this accident over on Dan Millican's Taking Off site but wanted to get this out to as many pilots as possible. Full disclosure, I'm a retired 27-year controller from a busy radar facility and an instrument rated pilot. I've read many NTSB accident reports where the controller was of no help and/or played a part in setting up the accident. In this instance I feel that the radar controller did no wrong and was aware enough to recognize that the pilot did not have the flick and broke off the approach. One thing all pilots need to understand that not all controllers are pilots. In fact, very few are and have no idea of what is going on in the cockpit. At busy radar facilities like where I worked, KSDF, most of our traffic was big, heavy jumbo jets. They can take a lot more weather than me in my little C172 but to a controller with no flight experience, all aircraft are a target on the screen. We get no specialized training about GA airplanes and how they are affected except that ice is bad. We get no training on how a specific system failure can affect your aircraft.

[@cherylgarretson3441]

Hearing that pilot is heartbreaking

[@asarangan]

That Cirrus N8402Q attempting to takeoff in freezing rain is worth a discussion by itself.

[@enthalpy]

That whole talk at the start of being in an emergency or sealing your fate was excellent. Thanks for this Juan

[@richardburke6902]

“Sticks like frozen snot to a glass doorknob.” Is quote I will be hard pressed to ever forget.

[@ricklowers8873]

Juan; to watch this report today of ALL days...it was 26 years ago today that those of us at American Eagle (Simmons) Airlines lost not only 4 friends and work mates, but 64 passengers as well 😢. Was flying as FO on ATR out of O’Hare that evening as well. To this day that was some of the worst weather I’ve ever flown in. We, as an industry,learned more about ice and icing conditions from the research conducted following that accident than I think we had up to that point in aviation history. From it has come the de-icing/anti-icing procedures we have in the Part 121 industry (Not all at once mind you, but through evolution.). Freezing liquid precip. Is absolutely THE MOST HAZARDOUS icing you can possibly encounter!

[@kpn574]

How sad. We get to as close as possible to the situation when we hear the audio tapes. Poor guy. May his soul rest in peace.

[@willyt7241]

Juan,

[@billmoran3812]

If there is one lesson I learned in instrument training, it’s stay out of icing conditions in GA aircraft.

[@samaipata4756]

As a former Centurion flyer, I just can only underline what you and some of your subscribers noted and recommended. Icing in a single or light twin is an absolute emergency and approach speed needs to be select higher to even high! This video of yours hopefully contributes to safe many lives. Thank you for creating this highly educational site and also a thank you to all your subscribers contributing with their comments about their own hands on experience, this is a great help for new pilots to survive the challenges of flying.

[@2201Duluth]

I really enjoy your patience in explaining the meaning of a lot of aviation terms for non pilots like me

[@kvarner6886]

The terror in this pilot's voice is just heart-breaking. His voice is wavering, sounds like he's almost crying toward the end. So hard to watch, but so important to learn from.

[@Mrsournotes]

Unfortunate outcome. I really like how you interject with the VAS clip by stopping and explaining things. As well done as I’ve yet seen. Very informative to say the least. Sorry the pilot was lost.

[@jeffwallace957]

Thank you for all the information it's just fascinating to have this broken down for somebody who isn't a pilot. I really appreciate it.

[@105blwalker]

Juan, 30 yr controller and 40 yr pilot chiming in here. I had numerous situations similar to this in my career and can't stress enough to other pilots: DECLARE THE EMERGENCY !!! It gets everyone quickly on the same page and gets the pilot a formidable team on his side. If this had resulted in a happy ending, it might have ended at the supervisor's desk or at the very worst with a not-so-pleasant call to the FAA. Either way, a far more pleasant outcome than this one had. I was taught as a pilot (and transferred this wisdom to my ATC career) that almost every accident has a chain of at least 3 things that have to go wrong. Most pilots can deal with 1, really good pilots can handle 2, but the addition of a 3rd thing going wrong or sideways is where they turn lethal. This pilot's probable unfamiliarity with the aircraft would count as 1; his unawareness of the fast-moving cold front would have been 2; continued flight into known icing would have been 3 and getting really close to the airport expecting the wrong approach would have been 4. Not sure at what point he got his ATIS information, or whether he got it at all, but something was most definitely wrong here. His fate was most certainly sealed. As others have said, most light aircraft autopilots (especially early ones) with automatic pitch trim will gleefully keep adding trim until they run out of authority, disconnect and leave you with the yoke in your lap and no options left. Also, there are fewer and fewer controllers around these days who are pilots. If this had been me on the ground, hearing his voice, questioning the approach and hearing him say he was in freezing rain, I would have immediately asked if he had de-icing capability. If he said no, I would have declared the emergency for him and done everything I could to get him safely on the ground ASAP. Pilots need to forget the "Nasty old FAA" of the past and learn to view declaring an emergency as a tool to keep in their flying toolbox. This goes doubly so for non-professional, GA pilots flying in single-pilot, hard IMC conditions. The people on the ground are there to help. Let them.

[@anthonycbrown1952]

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[@garymartin9777]

Hey Juan -- good to hear you are in Dallas. If you get a chance swing by the old Dallas Naval Air Station in Grand Prairie. I believe the runway is still there. In January, 1944, my father crashed his Stearman during flight training taking out the lights in Dallas for three days! And the cause -- wouldn't you know it -- carburetor icing !! He was badly injured but survived. Otherwise I wouldn't be here !

[@johnscherer5380]

Juan, the only time I ever diverted for weather in the C-5 was going into Altus after an air refueling sortie. LTS was calling freezing rain, and we were PROHIBITED from flying in freezing rain in the C-5. We diverted to Carswell AFB, had dinner and flew back to Altus several hours later, safely. Good video analysis. John, ATP/CFII SMEL

[@n6mz]

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