Narrative:

I planned a flight from virginia to missouri. I looked at internet weather and obtained a weather briefing from flight service. I had noted several conditions of interest. A layer of clouds and freezing conditions expressed by airmets; freezing layers; and the flight service weather briefing. However; it appeared the area with these conditions did not continue all the way through to my destination which was in fact VFR. In addition; the tops of these clouds appeared to be 7;000 ft and below for most of the flight and perhaps were only up to 10;000 ft at their highest for a small portion of the flight; thus permitting me to easily overfly the cloud layers. I planned a 4.5 hour flight adding lower altitude winds into the calculation. At altitude with proper leaning procedures; I can obtain 7 hours of total flying time in my piper lance. However; I also noted the bases of the clouds made a large swath of west virginia full IFR should an emergency landing be required. In addition; I noted a range of 30 to 70 KTS headwind depending on altitude. I made a mental note that higher altitudes would substantially affect my total flying distance. I concluded; in retrospect incorrectly; that I had more than enough fuel to pass over the weather although depending on conditions; I might have to divert to a closer airport than intended. With these conditions I decided to conduct the flight under an IFR flight plan; initially filing for 8;000 ft. I encountered no problems and VFR conditions across virginia including outside air temperatures well above freezing but could see the clouds off in the distance over west virginia. As I continued into west virginia the temperature dropped as expected; but the cloud tops began climbing and eventually forced me to request a higher altitude from center to stay clear of clouds. Unfortunately the cloud tops continued to climb eventually forcing me to 15;000 ft. I did not expect the cloud tops to reach this high. At one point I skimmed through the top of one of these clouds taking on a trace of rime ice. Approximately 10 NM later; I again noted a need to climb to stay above the clouds and avoid the likely icing conditions within them. I called center to request 16;000 ft but did not receive a reply on the first two attempts. On the third attempt; indy center responded; took my request; and stated they would need to coordinate this. Unfortunately I was approaching a cloud layer and decided to climb a little to stay on top. I did not intend on deviating from my assigned altitude but ended up climbing 400 plus ft by the time I received I my clearance to 16;000 ft a minute or so later. While this action on my part kept me clear of the clouds and the likely icing within; and permitted me to retain VFR conditions above; it was also a violation of an assigned altitude and I admitted to my error immediately on the radio with center. Approximately five minutes later it appeared I was going to need to climb again to stay out of the clouds. Also; doing some math calculations; it was clear I did not have enough ground speed to make my destination or reach a VFR airport thus forcing me to descend through the clouds; possibly in an airmet icing area; to land. On the later parts of this flight; cruise ground speed was 60 KTS and climb speed was 40 KTS; thus making my direct headwind approximately 80 KTS. With these conditions I elected to reverse course and fly back to my departure airport; which was VFR. This I completed without incident or entering any clouds. Insufficient weather information; or misinterpretation of weather information; led to a decision to proceed with the flight; discovery of a trace of rime ice (during an approximate one minute flight in a cloud layer). [This] left me very interested in not entering the clouds again. To stay out of the clouds I initiated a climb about a minute in advance of receiving clearance to do so. I hoped I would only need 50 ft or a little more to stay clear of the clouds. Unfortunately I ended up needing more; and admitted to this on the radio with center. In retrospect; with the known airmets for icing; I most likely should not have initiated the flight. Upon receiving a trace of rime ice and knowing I might need to climb again; I should have turned around at that point (earlier than when I actually turned around). Upon a delay from center in obtaining a clearance I should have requested an immediate reverse course or if unable declared an emergency as a better procedure to stay out of the clouds. While I do not recall seeing any forecast cloud tops higher than 7;000 to 10;000 ft; this is perhaps a mute point as the airmets for moderate icing; which I would have had to fly through in case of an emergency; should have been enough to cancel the flight. While it was only a 400 ft deviation in altitude; it was still a deviation and I should have requested an immediate change of course or a declaration of an emergency before deviating or turning. My judgment should not have been affected by altitude as I had a portable oxygen system on board. Additionally; while this is not a consideration for regulation compliance; I am a mountain climber and regularly carry 60 pounds packs up steep inclines at 14;000 ft. I do not obtain symptoms of altitude sickness or impaired judgment under these conditions. I had a period of inaction and failed to discontinue the flight when first encountering ice. I acted in error when I climbed without a clearance. However; I did ultimately exercise good judgment; reverse course; and return to the departure airport without further incident.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA32 pilot describes encountering clouds and icing conditions at much higher altitudes than forecast during a cross country flight. At one point a climb to avoid clouds and icing is initiated prior to receiving clearance to do so. With ground speed down to a point that will not allow reaching destination; the decision is made to return to the departure airport.

Narrative: I planned a flight from Virginia to Missouri. I looked at Internet weather and obtained a weather briefing from Flight Service. I had noted several conditions of interest. A layer of clouds and freezing conditions expressed by AIRMETS; freezing layers; and the Flight Service weather briefing. However; it appeared the area with these conditions did not continue all the way through to my destination which was in fact VFR. In addition; the tops of these clouds appeared to be 7;000 FT and below for most of the flight and perhaps were only up to 10;000 FT at their highest for a small portion of the flight; thus permitting me to easily overfly the cloud layers. I planned a 4.5 hour flight adding lower altitude winds into the calculation. At altitude with proper leaning procedures; I can obtain 7 hours of total flying time in my Piper Lance. However; I also noted the bases of the clouds made a large swath of West Virginia full IFR should an emergency landing be required. In addition; I noted a range of 30 to 70 KTS headwind depending on altitude. I made a mental note that higher altitudes would substantially affect my total flying distance. I concluded; in retrospect incorrectly; that I had more than enough fuel to pass over the weather although depending on conditions; I might have to divert to a closer airport than intended. With these conditions I decided to conduct the flight under an IFR flight plan; initially filing for 8;000 FT. I encountered no problems and VFR conditions across Virginia including outside air temperatures well above freezing but could see the clouds off in the distance over West Virginia. As I continued into West Virginia the temperature dropped as expected; but the cloud tops began climbing and eventually forced me to request a higher altitude from Center to stay clear of clouds. Unfortunately the cloud tops continued to climb eventually forcing me to 15;000 FT. I did not expect the cloud tops to reach this high. At one point I skimmed through the top of one of these clouds taking on a trace of rime ice. Approximately 10 NM later; I again noted a need to climb to stay above the clouds and avoid the likely icing conditions within them. I called Center to request 16;000 FT but did not receive a reply on the first two attempts. On the third attempt; Indy Center responded; took my request; and stated they would need to coordinate this. Unfortunately I was approaching a cloud layer and decided to climb a little to stay on top. I did not intend on deviating from my assigned altitude but ended up climbing 400 plus FT by the time I received I my clearance to 16;000 FT a minute or so later. While this action on my part kept me clear of the clouds and the likely icing within; and permitted me to retain VFR conditions above; it was also a violation of an assigned altitude and I admitted to my error immediately on the radio with Center. Approximately five minutes later it appeared I was going to need to climb again to stay out of the clouds. Also; doing some math calculations; it was clear I did not have enough ground speed to make my destination or reach a VFR airport thus forcing me to descend through the clouds; possibly in an AIRMET icing area; to land. On the later parts of this flight; cruise ground speed was 60 KTS and climb speed was 40 KTS; thus making my direct headwind approximately 80 KTS. With these conditions I elected to reverse course and fly back to my departure airport; which was VFR. This I completed without incident or entering any clouds. Insufficient weather information; or misinterpretation of weather information; led to a decision to proceed with the flight; discovery of a trace of rime ice (during an approximate one minute flight in a cloud layer). [This] left me very interested in not entering the clouds again. To stay out of the clouds I initiated a climb about a minute in advance of receiving clearance to do so. I hoped I would only need 50 FT or a little more to stay clear of the clouds. Unfortunately I ended up needing more; and admitted to this on the radio with Center. In retrospect; with the known AIRMETS for icing; I most likely should not have initiated the flight. Upon receiving a trace of rime ice and knowing I might need to climb again; I should have turned around at that point (earlier than when I actually turned around). Upon a delay from Center in obtaining a clearance I should have requested an immediate reverse course or if unable declared an emergency as a better procedure to stay out of the clouds. While I do not recall seeing any forecast cloud tops higher than 7;000 to 10;000 FT; this is perhaps a mute point as the AIRMETS for moderate icing; which I would have had to fly through in case of an emergency; should have been enough to cancel the flight. While it was only a 400 FT deviation in altitude; it was still a deviation and I should have requested an immediate change of course or a declaration of an emergency before deviating or turning. My judgment should not have been affected by altitude as I had a portable oxygen system on board. Additionally; while this is not a consideration for regulation compliance; I am a mountain climber and regularly carry 60 LBS packs up steep inclines at 14;000 FT. I do not obtain symptoms of altitude sickness or impaired judgment under these conditions. I had a period of inaction and failed to discontinue the flight when first encountering ice. I acted in error when I climbed without a clearance. However; I did ultimately exercise good judgment; reverse course; and return to the departure airport without further incident.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.