A VFR C172 PLT ABOVE AN OVCST FILES IFR TO DSND FOR HIS DEST BUT FLIES THROUGH WHAT HE CONSIDERS KNOWN ICING CONDITIONS.

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I FEEL THAT I HAVE VIOLATED THE FAR REGARDING FLT INTO KNOWN ICING. I WAS FLYING FROM SPI TO ARR. WHEN I LEFT SPI; CONDITIONS WERE VFR BUT RATHER TURBULENT. AT THE REQUEST OF THE OTHER PAX; WHO HAS A PVT PLT'S LICENSE; WE CLBED ABOVE A SCATTERED LAYER OF CLOUDS. THERE WE ENCOUNTERED SMOOTHER CONDITIONS. AS WE PROCEEDED TOWARDS SPI; THE CLOUDS WERE BEGINNING TO FORM A CEILING. WE SOON FOUND OURSELVES WITH AN OVCST LAYER BELOW US. WHEN WE ARRIVED NEAR AURORA; I FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN AND WAS VECTORED TO THE VOR 33 APCH AT ARR; BY APCH. I FLEW THE APCH UNTIL BREAKING OUT OF THE CLOUDS; WHERE I CANCELED MY IFR CLRNC. WE NEVER PICKED UP ICE AT ANY TIME THROUGHOUT THE FLT. I HAD RECEIVED A DETAILED WX BRIEFING WHICH CONTAINED AN AIRMET FOR POSSIBLE ICING CONDITIONS; BUT WAS UNSURE OF THE FAA'S INTERP OF WHAT 'KNOWN ICING' WAS. AFTER THE FLT; I DID SOME RESEARCH AND REALIZED THAT I HAD IN FACT FLOWN INTO 'KNOWN ICING.' THE OTHER PAX DURING THE FLT WAS MY BOSS; WE ROUTINELY FLY TOGETHER ON BUSINESS TRIPS. HE DOES NOT HAVE AN INST RATING. HE SUGGESTED TO FLY ABOVE THE CLOUDS SO IT WOULD BE LESS TURBULENT. I DID NOT REALLY WANT TO FLY ABOVE THEM; BECAUSE I KNEW WE WOULD HAVE TO DSND BEFORE THERE WAS A CEILING. I KNEW THERE WAS THE POSSIBILITY OF ICING WITH THE FREEZING TEMPS AND PRECIP (CLOUDS). I WAS HESITANT TO CONTINUE FLYING TOWARD ARR AND WANTED TO FIND A HOLE TO DSND THROUGH. MY BOSS INSISTED THAT WE WOULD NOT PICK UP ANY ICE AND THAT WE SHOULD JUST DSND ON AN IFR CLRNC. WITHOUT COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDING THE LEGALITIES OF FLT INTO KNOWN ICING; I DECIDED TO DSND THROUGH THE CLOUDS UNDER IFR. I WAS PIC THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FLT AND SHOULD HAVE NEVER LISTENED TO THE OTHER PAX. I DISPLAYED POOR DECISION MAKING SILLS WITH MY DECISION TO FLY THROUGH THE CLOUDS. A SAFER ALTERNATIVE WOULD HAVE BEEN TO TRY AND FIND VFR CONDITIONS FOR A DSCNT. SINCE THE FLT; I HAVE SHOWED MY BOSS SEVERAL ARTICLES PERTAINING TO KNOWN ICING AND MADE IT CLR THAT I WOULD NOT FLY INTO ANY CONDITIONS THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED KNOWN ICING.