Originally Posted by
piperboy84
How would he know what the tops were if the flight was planned for 5k and under CAS and which I assume was not intended to be flown on a clearance? He appears to have choosen to descend either to find for warmer air or to get out of visible moisture in order to avoid iceing or reduce a build up in progress. Why would climbing to airway flight levels if indeed that was even possible if he already was experiencing icing been any better of a choice than descending if the tops were unknown to him?
Genuine question about airman/woman decision making, not focused exclusively on this tragic accident.
I think the tops that evening exceeded the PA46 - probably around 28-30,000 ft