Early on the morning of an IFR flight from Detroit City Airport in Michigan to Boyne Falls, Michigan, I called Lansing Flight Service for a weather update. There were no known adverse conditions on my proposed route. However the reports called for low ceilings at Detroit City and Gaylord Ostega Airport in Michigan — an airport 20 miles from my destination at Boyne Mountain Airport. The forecast called for improved ceilings at Gaylord of 1,300 feet broken and 1,800 overcast. The rest of the route called for ceilings of 1,000 ft and tops at 4,000 ft. The freezing level was reported at 6,000 ft with a second level at 12,000. I did not think much of that, considering the sky was clear and sunny above 4,500.
My kids and best friend were excited about going skiing. Our things were packed and ready to go, but I dragged my feet, trying to buy time and hoping for improved weather conditions. When we arrived at the airport, we had to clear snow from in front of the hangar before we could pull out my Cessna 172 Hawk XPII. While waiting for fuel, I made my final call to flight service for an update.
Things were improving, with ceilings up to 1,700 ft and no known icing; a few pilot reports in the area verified actual cloud tops at 4,500 ft and temperatures at 2 degrees Celsius.
I was released and cleared for takeoff with an immediate left turn to a 360-degree heading. Detroit City Tower handed me over to the departure controller while I was climbing through instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and I was cleared to 6,000 ft. We broke through the clouds at about 4,000 ft into a clear and beautiful sunny day. Living in southeastern Michigan, I was very anxious to see the sun; it felt like we hadn't seen it for six months.
The flight was uneventful — a beautiful and peaceful sky with a light crosswind. Our groundspeed would allow us to arrive on time despite our late departure. Fifty miles out I was handed off to Minneapolis Center. Around 20 miles from Boyne Falls, Center initiated our descent to 3,500 ft in preparation for the NDB approach. Air traffic control also provided me with a weather report from a nearby reporting station calling for a 300-ft ceiling, wind from 280 degrees at 4 kt, and temperature and dew point of minus 1 degree C. I started the descent to 3,500 ft and entered IMC at 4,500, where light rime ice began to accumulate. A few minutes later ATC gave me the final heading for the approach. While ice continued to accumulate, I asked ATC if any other traffic had managed to get into Boyne Falls or Gaylord and found that the controller had not sent anyone there yet that day. I was going to be the guinea pig. I did a quick calculation based on the reported weather and concluded that I wasn't going to break out at the minimum descent altitude. I broke off my approach and notified ATC, requesting a climb into the clear.
ATC approved my request. While ice continued to build, my airspeed started to drop at an alarming rate. The icing intensified; my windshield turned into a solid sheet of ice. I prepared for a stall, while simultaneously cross-checking my instruments, but all indications displayed a normal level attitude. Still, the airspeed indicator continued its ugly deterioration faster into the abyss. I readied myself for a stall as the airspeed hit zero. Nothing happened. I finally concluded that the pitot tube had iced over.
After visually verifying that it was indeed frozen, I resumed my cautious climb, flying on a partial panel and avoiding any buffeting. I informed ATC about this issue and requested vectors to the nearest airport — Gaylord, which had an ILS. I could not climb without Experiencing buffeting, so I chose to abandon the climb and tried to maintain level flight to the outer marker. ATC was calm throughout; the controller informed me that there was no traffic around.
I flew with maximum engine power just to maintain level flight. All turns were shallow; my main concern was to avoid stalling. I requested the ILS frequency, and I was given the VOR frequency by accident, which ATC immediately corrected. I opened my approach charts to the ILS 9 at Gaylord. The minute I intercepted the localizer, I started my turn on course. ATC called when I was three miles from the outer marker. I was in constant communication with my guardian angel (ATC) until I broke out at decision height, though ATC lost radar contact with me during my descent.
Less than a half mile out, I picked up the runway lights, then the run.way. I could not see anything through the windshield, so I entered a slip. Once I made the numbers, I kicked the plane out of the slip and touched down with a slight tailwind.
There was a twin on the other end of the runway waiting for my arrival. I told the departing aircraft that I would notify flight service of our arrival — and if they didn't mind, could they pass my grateful thanks to my guardian angel at Minneapolis Center?
After we parked the airplane, I peeled off the three inches of rime from every leading edge on my Hawk XPII.
I learned many lessons from this incident. First, don't count on the weather to improve much. Second, while you're in clear skies, develop a plan to get down safely through any clouds. If you get into icing conditions, don't wait to climb out of them. Third, I learned to check the pitot heat prior to an IFR departure — in my case I would've discovered that the pitot heat was inoperative before I left the ground. Finally, don't underestimate the effect that the Great Lakes have on flying weather.
I was very fortunate to have a way out — an ILS-equipped airport 20 miles away.
Abdallah F. Shanti, AOPA 1400943, has been a pilot for 20 years and has logged more than 3,000 hours. He owns a 1979 Cessna 172 Hawk XPII.
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