Just a little ice

This was the first day of our first long vacation with Rob and Kim Kindred. We were flying to Florida at 6500 feet, popping in and out of small cumulus clouds. It was a cool day, so it was below freezing inside the clouds. We were picking up minute ice crystals on the front of the wheels.

I told Rob, "Hey, look out the window. We're picking up a little bit of ice. What do you want to do about it?"

He suggested we change altitude to get out of the clouds. That was a reasonable suggestion. We climbed above the clouds and the ice disappeared. The flight continued uneventfully.

Later I found out that just hearing the word 'icing' terrified Kim. She thought we were going to have another adventure similar to the one at Newport News (December 29, 1983). I learned it is important to let your passengers know if there really is no danger. Avoid expressions like "we're going down" when you actually mean "we're going to descend to a lower altitude."