Incident Overview
A pilot reported climbing from 15,000 feet to 16,000 feet to avoid building thunderstorms and snow showers. While in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), the airspeed indication began to decrease, followed by the airspeed and altimeter readouts on the primary flight display showing hash marks. The pilot manually disengaged the autopilot, initiated a descent, and turned on the pitot heat. Shortly thereafter, the airspeed indication returned.
Sequence of Events
Sensing he was in a descent, the pilot pulled back to slow the airplane, causing the attitude indicator to behave erratically. The terrain warning system then activated, prompting the pilot to deploy the ballistic recovery parachute. The airplane impacted trees and came to rest inverted at the top of several trees, resulting in substantial damage.
Post-Incident Findings
In subsequent conversations, the pilot stated that he had not kept the pitot heat on continuously while in clouds. He mentioned that he may have initially activated the icing protection system instead of the pitot heat, as the switches are adjacent. An examination of the primary flight display and multifunction display revealed a loss of air data due to pitot tube icing. Inspection of other aircraft systems found no anomalies.