Icing and the effects it has on Aircraft

 Icing and the effects it has on Aircraft

    Weather conditions are one of the most important things when it comes to flying.  Pilots and passengers will always prefer clear skies, but that's not always going to happen.  Some of the most dangerous weather conditions to aircraft while flying would be thunderstorms, icing, wind shear, high winds, etc.  However, icing can be one of the greater risks to flying, and it's what I will be discussing.

    Aircraft icing can cause a high risk to aircraft flying due to the increase of drag and reduction of lift caused by it.  A study from 1982 to 2000 showed that icing incidents led to 583 accidents and more than 800 fatalities (Petty & Floyd, 2004).  Icing is caused when an aircraft flies through clouds made up of small liquid droplets.  There are three main types of aircraft icing, clear, rime, and mixed.  Clear ice is a heavy coating of ice that forms when the aircraft is flying through clouds of liquid water droplets.  It can occur at any altitude above freezing level.  Rime icing is milky white-colored ice that is caused by flying through filmy clouds.  Rime ice is easier to deal with than clear ice since it is more brittle.  Mixed icing is the icing that is both rime and clear.  It is caused when both small and large droplets are present.  Most aircraft today have de-icing systems in place to prevent the buildup of ice.



Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge Chapter 12. (2016, August 24). Faa.Gov. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/

Petty, K. R. P., & Floyd, C. D. J. F. (2004). A STATISTICAL REVIEW OF AVIATION AIRFRAME ICING ACCIDENTS IN THE U.S. https://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/81425.pdf

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