Man…sounds pretty hairy. I’m surprised there is no way to isolate the ECS system, like pull a breaker or something. I have no idea how the ECS works in a Hornet…whether it uses a little ACM (air cycle machine) or what, but whatever controls or backups surely must have failed.
“The temperature inside the cockpit suddenly plunged to temperatures reaching -30 degrees and a mist pumped into the the cockpit, covering the instruments and windows in a layer of ice, rendering the pilots almost completely blind, according to several sources familiar with the incident and an internal report obtained by Defense News.”