When icing conditions are encountered during flight, what action should be taught?

• A. Disengage the autopilot
• B. Increase power to climb
• C. Maintain current heading
• D. Extend landing gear

Answer: (A)

Disengaging the autopilot and hand-flying is crucial when icing is encountered. Ice can distort air data and change the airplane’s handling, and the autopilot may respond to that faulty data in ways that worsen the situation. By taking manual control, you can feel the aircraft’s response, maintain the proper airspeed away from the stall, and promptly adjust pitch, power, and bank to stabilize the flight and work toward exiting the icing conditions. After you have direct control, you can fine-tune configuration and power and use anti-ice or de-ice systems as needed. Other options like extending landing gear or holding a heading don’t address the immediate need to regain control in an ice-affected approach, and adding power without first restoring manual control can be risky if the autopilot is still influencing the aircraft.