CESSNA 177RG — Galt, MO

What happened

The instrument-rated pilot completed one leg of a cross-country flight and landed with ¼ inch of structural icing on the airplane. After placing the airplane in a hanger to deice, the pilot elected to depart into similar weather conditions as when he arrived, which consisted of low cloud ceilings and forecast icing in the clouds. Before departing, the pilot told a witness he intended to fly north then west because “the weather was better to the north.” The witness attempted to dissuade the pilot from departing, but the pilot elected to takeoff anyway. No evidence was found that the pilot obtained a weather briefing or used his Foreflight account to check enroute weather conditions, but he did show a witness a weather map on his phone prior to departing.

The pilot departed and flew north-northwest about 70 miles before turning to the west-southwest until the data ended near the accident site. The airplane attained a maximum altitude of 1,900 ft mean sea level (msl) before it began a gradual descent until the data ended at 1,200 ft msl. Terrain along the route of flight varied between about 750 ft and 950 ft msl and the elevation at the accident site was about 785 ft msl. The pilot was not in contact with air traffic control during the flight.

The airplane impacted a wooded area about 1.8 miles west of the last recorded flight data point. The initial impact occurred with trees about 30 ft above the ground. The airplane was accounted for in its entirety at the accident site. Damage and dispersion of the wreckage prevented determination of the airplane’s attitude at the time of impact. The wreckage was examined, and no pre-impact anomalies were noted that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane.

Although there was no record of the pilot checking weather for the flight, his decision to fly north before turning west suggests that he likely checked weather from an undiscovered source. The airplane’s flight track is consistent with the pilot attempting to remain below the clouds, and it is likely that the airplane’s gradual descent corresponded to lowering cloud bases as the flight progressed.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.