ATX SMT ACFT ICED UP AND BECAME UNCONTROLLABLE DURING APCH TO LNDG RESULTING IN AN EMER OFF ARPT LNDG.

Date: 1993-01 · Aircraft: Small Transport

Anomalies: deviation-altitude-excursion-from-assigned-altitude|deviation-track-heading-all-types|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-far|inflight-event-encounter-weather-turbulence|inflight-event-encounter-loss-of-aircraft-control|other-unspecified

Synopsis

ATX SMT ACFT ICED UP AND BECAME UNCONTROLLABLE DURING APCH TO LNDG RESULTING IN AN EMER OFF ARPT LNDG.

Narrative

FLT WAS TO DEPART GLD AND GO TO HYS THEN SLN AND ICT. MULTIPLE WX BRIEFINGS WERE OBTAINED FOR SEVERAL HRS PRIOR TO FLT DUE TO WX CONDITIONS. ALTHOUGH FLT PLANS WERE FILED FOR ENTIRE RTE; FLT WAS GOING TO TERMINATE AT HYS DUE TO FORECAST WX ALONG RTE E OF HYS. SEVERAL PLT RPTS WERE RECEIVED INDICATING WX WAS NOT AS BAD AS FORECAST AND THERE WERE NO PROBS WITH ICING. TOPS WERE LOW ALONG ENTIRE RTE AND IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO STAY ON TOP EXCEPT FOR TKOF AND LNDG. ENOUGH FUEL WAS ON BOARD TO REACH GOOD VFR WITH ABOUT 2 HRS RESERVE. SEVERAL ACFT HAD TAKEN OFF AND LANDED PRIOR TO DEP; NONE MADE PLT RPTS OF ANY ICING. LAST CONDITIONS RPTED AT HYS PRIOR TO DEP I BELIEVE WAS CEILING 500 FT WITH VISIBILITY OF 10 MI; BOTH WELL ABOVE LOWEST MINIMUMS AT HYS. DURING DEP FROM GLD NO ICE WAS ENCOUNTERED; TOPS WERE LOW; EXACTLY WHERE THEY WERE RPTED TO BE BY A PLT WHO FEW INTO GLD SEVERAL HRS EARLIER. IN ORDER TO OBTAIN LATEST WX AT HYS THE AWOS WAS MONITORED AS SOON AS ACFT WAS AT ALT. BOTH CEILING AND VISIBILITY WERE BELOW LAST RPTED BY FSS BUT STILL ABOVE MINIMUMS. ZKC WAS MONITORED WHILE ENRTE TO LISTEN FOR DEPARTING AND LNDG ACFT (AT THE TIME I WAS TALKING TO DEN CTR). NO ADVERSE WX WAS RPTED. ABOUT 15 MINS PRIOR TO LNDG AN LTT ACFT TOOK OFF FROM HYS; NO ICE WAS RPTED. THIS WAS A GOOD INDICATION THAT WX THAT WAS FORECAST WAS NOT OCCURRING. I WAS CLRED TO 4000 FT WHICH WOULD PUT ME INTO THE CLOUDS AND POSSIBLE ICING. AN ALT OF 5000 FT WAS REQUESTED SO I COULD STAY OUT OF THE CLOUDS UNTIL THE LAST MIN. ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE ARC A DSCNT WAS MADE TO 4000 FT; THERE WAS NO ICING AT 4000 FT. WHEN ESTABLISHED ON THE FINAL APCH COURSE A RAPID DSCNT TO 3000 FT AS PUBLISHED ON THE APCH WAS MADE; NO ICE WAS ENCOUNTERED. AT 4 DME A DSCNT TO MINIMUMS OF 2340 FT CAN BE MADE. ACFT REACHED 3000 FT AT 4 DME SO THE DSCNT WAS CONTINUED AND A FINAL CHK FOR ICE WAS MADE. AT THIS POINT ICE STARTED TO RAPIDLY FORM ON THE WINGS AND WINDSHIELD. SINCE THE CEILING HAD SUDDENLY DROPPED WHILE FLYING THE APCH; IT WAS DOUBTFUL IF A LNDG COULD BE MADE. I ELECTED TO IMMEDIATELY MAKE A MISSED APCH AND GET OUT OF THE ICE. ACFT DID NOT IMMEDIATELY START TO CLB; AT 20 MPH ABOVE VY A STALL BUFFET WAS FELT AND THE ACFT INSTANTLY STALLED. IMMEDIATELY A STALL RECOVERY WAS MADE AND CLB WAS MADE AT A SPD THAT GAVE MAX RATE. I CALLED CTR AND DECLARED A MISSED APCH; THEY ADVISED ANOTHER ACFT WAS ABOVE ME SO I WOULD HAVE TO STAY AT 4000 FT. THIS ALT WOULD LEAVE ME IN THE CLOUDS AND RISK PICKING UP MORE ICE. I THEN DECLARED AN EMER SINCE ACFT WAS BECOMING UNCONTROLLABLE AND CLB RATE WAS DECREASING RAPIDLY. ACFT WOULD CLB SEVERAL HUNDRED FT THEN DSND SEVERAL HUNDRED FT. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES; MAX ALT REACHED WAS 3600 FT; THEN THE ACFT WOULD NOT CLB AT ALL. HDG WAS VARYING L ZERO DEGS; R 60 DEGS OR MORE. AND ACFT ENDED UP ON AN EASTERLY HDG. THIS HDG TOOK THE ACFT OUT OF THE BAD ICE BUT IT WAS STILL BUILDING. THE HDG ALSO PUT THE ACFT PARALLEL TO AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AND TOWARDS RUSSELL ARPT. PRIOR TO STARTING APCH TO HYS WX WAS CHKED AT RSL; SLN AND ICT. NO FREEZING PRECIP WAS RPTED; CEILING WAS NEAR MINIMUMS AND VISIBILITY WAS ABOVE MINIMUMS AT RSL. TERRAIN GOING W RISES RAPIDLY; TO THE E IT LOWERS. AS I FLEW E OAT ALSO SLOWLY ROSE. ACFT WOULD NOT CLB AT ANY AIRSPD SO A SPD THAT PRODUCED THE MINIMUM SINK WAS SELECTED. A HDG THAT WOULD PUT THE ACFT ON A COURSE TOWARD RSL WAS MAINTAINED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SEVERAL TIMES THE ACFT STARTED TO LOOSE SOME ICE AND WOULD STOP DSNDING OR CLB SLIGHTLY. AS ICE BUILT UP ACFT WOULD START DSNDING AGAIN. FINALLY MOST OR ALL ICE ON THE L WING CAME OFF BUT IT DID NOT COME OFF THE R WING. ACFT ROLLED VIOLENTLY R AND BECAME UNCONTROLLABLE. MAINTAINING A HDG THAT WOULD KEEP ACFT ON COURSE WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO MAINTAIN AND ACFT DRIFTED S OF COURSE. ACFT WAS S OF COURSE AND 100 TO 150 FT BELOW MINIMUMS WHEN RSL ARPT WAS PASSED. NO LIGHTS FROM CITY WERE SEEN; ARPT LIGHTS AND BEACON WERE NOT SEEN EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE TURNED ON WITH PLT CTLED LIGHT SYS. INTERSTATE WAS NEVER SEEN. ACFT BROKE OUT OF OVCST 100 TO 200 FT AGL. DUE TO LOW ALT AND LACK OF CTL A TURN BACK TOWARD RSL WAS UNSAFE TO MAKE. AN OFF ARPT LNDG WAS MADE FULL PWR; GEAR UP AT MINIMUM SINK JUST ABOVE STALL SPD.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.