Cap Peacock
Icing in the majority of cases is only a problem if your flying in cloud/Fog not on top of it or hitting the occasional lump of it!
IE if he was flying IFR in IMC then yes cloud could create an icing problem.
As the pilot was flying VFR and visual it is more likely he was scud running.
I can remember 15 years ago moving a very basic C150 to another airport for a friend.
No nav kit only a radio.
I set off in light rain and 1000 foot cloudbase and elected to follow a river which I knew would stop me running into high ground. The River past within a couple of hundred meters of the destination airfield some 80 miles away.
Before I knew it I was down at 600 feet staying visual over the river. The rain had intensified and visibility was down to 2k.
Things got worse and I was now down at 400 feet with 1000 meter viz.
I waited to break out into better conditions but now at 400 feet was chopping in and out of scud cloud and cloud was appearing below as well.
That was it I pulled up into the clouds still over the river climbed to 2500 feet in solid IMC with the intention of calling a military unit who could offer me a PAR to land. As it was 10 miles further on I exited the front into clear blue skies.
It sounds more than likely that this pilot was slightly off from where he thought he was hit some cloud and was met by a building. Turning away he probably did not see the Crane arm.
But this is only a guess as we do not know what other problems he may or may not have had.
I still feel that such structures near aircraft routes should be well marked with high intensity lighting as unlike a building they are hard or near impossible to see in such conditions.
Last edited by Pace; 17th Jan 2013 at 09:12.