Cessna 182L N3181R accident near Owen, Wisconsin

Probable cause

The flight instructor's decision to initiate flight into forecasted icing conditions in an airplane that was not certified or equipped for flight into icing conditions, which resulted in significant structural ice accumulation to the extent that the airplane was unable to maintain altitude.

NTSB analysis

The accident occurred on the third leg of a multi-leg cross-county trip that the flight instructor and the student pilot were making to relocate the airplane, which the student pilot had recently purchased. The flight instructor stated that, before beginning the flight, he obtained a weather briefing indicating icing conditions along the route of flight, but he thought they would be able to get above the weather. Although the airplane was not certified or equipped to fly into icing conditions, the flight instructor elected to initiate the flight. While en route, the airplane accumulated airframe ice despite the flight instructor making several altitude changes in an attempt to reach warmer temperatures. The airplane eventually accumulated enough ice that it was no longer capable of maintaining altitude, which resulted in the flight instructor making an off-airport emergency landing on a country road. The airplane's windshield was iced over restricting the pilot's forward visibility, and during the landing roll, the airplane contacted trees. A postaccident examination of the airplane at the accident site revealed the presence of rime ice on the top and bottom wing surfaces. Additionally, several pieces of concave-shaped ice ranging from 1.5-inches- to 7-inches-long and from 1.5-inches- to 2-inches-wide were located around the accident site. An examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have prevented normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN15FA119 for the full record.