Did icing crash my plane?

[Jimmy Helton 4]

A really interesting thing happened to me tonight in the JS41.  I decided to go for a flight in the blizzard that hit the southeast today with a route from KATL to KBNA.  Conditions in Atlanta were bad, with heavy snow at takeoff.  About five minutes into the flight everything was going normally.  I was cruising at 240 knots cleared by vatsim departure up to FL140.  At around FL110 she started to stall.  This caught me off guard because I was climbing at a very modest 1200 fpm.  The only way I could get her flying again was to descend. Things were getting worse as it went on.  Level flight was stalling her and the autopilot became useless. The only way I could keep her in the air was to keep a steady descent and she could barely maintain 130 knots at full throttle descending at 1000 fpm.  Anti-ice was on before takeoff.  Things did not go well and eventually she went down. 

 

Did icing cause this crash?  I've been in icing conditions before in the JS41, but never like this.  By the time I realized there was a big problem, it was too late to divert anywhere.

[MartinRex007 390]

It is the responsibility of the pilot in command to either avoid icing conditions or make sure the aircraft is equip for icing, so the NTSB would probably call it pilot error

[z06z33 763]

A really interesting thing happened to me tonight in the JS41.  I decided to go for a flight in the blizzard that hit the southeast today with a route from KATL to KBNA.  Conditions in Atlanta were bad, with heavy snow at takeoff.  About five minutes into the flight everything was going normally.  I was cruising at 240 knots cleared by vatsim departure up to FL140.  At around FL110 she started to stall.  This caught me off guard because I was climbing at a very modest 1200 fpm.  The only way I could get her flying again was to descend. Things were getting worse as it went on.  Level flight was stalling her and the autopilot became useless. The only way I could keep her in the air was to keep a steady descent and she could barely maintain 130 knots at full throttle descending at 1000 fpm.  Anti-ice was on before takeoff.  Things did not go well and eventually she went down. 

 

Did icing cause this crash?  I've been in icing conditions before in the JS41, but never like this.  By the time I realized there was a big problem, it was too late to divert anywhere.

Does the J41 have a hot wing or boots?

[scandinavian13 5,192]

Does the J41 have a hot wing or boots?

 

Boots

[Jimmy Helton 4]

Let me restate the question for Martin: do the changes in flight dynamics I described correlate with the JS41 flight model responding to icing conditions?

[z06z33 763]

To OP with boots you have to cycle them on and off leaving the boots on will do nothing as the ice will just stick to the inflated boot

[19dcavscout 39]

Sounds like icing.  

[Jimmy Helton 4]

That's amazing.  If indeed it was icing, then I'm completely blown away by the realism of the JS41!!!!  I also did not realize they were boots, so that does make perfect sense.  What an amazing flight model they coded!

[TheNerd 12]

Like David said, you should cycle the boots. Haven't flown the JS41 in a while because I've moved to P3D, but that's what I used to do.

Speaking of icing, I think it's time for me to torture the Q400. We have about a foot of snow here in NYC with heavy gusts and tons of slick surfaces. 

[Captain Skink 0]

I did a similar flight out of KATL , only to KAVL . It was pretty bad . Had to cycle the boots constantly .

[Jimmy Helton 4]

I'm new to the JS41.  I've been on the NGX for a long while, but I wanted a different kind of experience.  Finally got the engines figured out, but it was my first time in heavy icing.  I seriously considered the Q400, but decided to stick with PMDG.

[Captain Skink 0]

I'm new to the JS41.  I've been on the NGX for a long while, but I wanted a different kind of experience.  Finally got the engines figured out, but it was my first time in heavy icing.  I seriously considered the Q400, but decided to stick with PMDG.

 i don't have the Q400 , but would like to fly it .

This PMDG aircraft has it's quirks , but overall I really dig the way it flies and having to manage the systems .

Like David said, you should cycle the boots. Haven't flown the JS41 in a while because I've moved to P3D, but that's what I used to do.

Speaking of icing, I think it's time for me to torture the Q400. We have about a foot of snow here in NYC with heavy gusts and tons of slick surfaces. 

....braking reported 'poor' by an RJ ... XD Excellent

[Jimmy Helton 4]

The thing about the Q400 is I would not be happy with less than the professional version, and that sets me back $100...........$100 I'm saving for the PMDG 747 v.2!  I more or less get the full prop experience in the JS41.  However, running the feedback bus outside of fsx to get 40+ framerates on the Q400 almost makes me bite the bullet.

[ckyliu 1,749]

Important to note JS41's de-ice boots only operate ONCE when the cycle button is pressed, it's not a continuous timer like other aircraft types. You may need to trigger them every few minutes in severe icing.