With a brand-new instrument rating in his wallet and family on board his Cessna 172, Heath Wells expected to comfortably complete the flight across central Pennsylvania. But Mother Nature had other plans that almost spoiled the day. As the ground was rising toward the cloud layer, Wells-with the help of air traffic controllers-ended up declaring an emergency while trying to divert to better conditions. Had he taken enough time to get a thorough weather briefing and check pireps before launching on this trip? Icing Encounter ponders those questions and illustrates why you need to avoid icing conditions, especially in an aircraft without approved deicing capability. If flying iced-up, inverted, and heading for the trees is not on your bucket list, watch this real pilot story to learn why ice will cripple your airplane's performance and interfere with the flight's safety.
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