Ice Equipment Failures

If theres one system that breeds overconfidence in the neophyte, its ice protection gear. Ice in the forecast? Youve got that known-ice Turbo Bugsmasher tucked away in a hangar just for such occasions. Problem solved, right? Not so fast.

Editorial Staff

Monday, August 04, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Safe flight in icing conditions requires a thorough understanding of an aircraft's specific ice protection systems, including their operational limitations and diligent pre-flight testing.
Pilots must proactively activate essential ice protection components, such as pitot and propeller heat, *before* encountering icing conditions and continuously monitor their functionality during flight.
It is crucial to know how to identify in-flight failures of ice protection systems and implement appropriate responses, which may include manual overrides, temporary fixes, or promptly exiting icing conditions.

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Flying safely when ice builds on the airframe is challenging enough when everything is working right. Here are a few tricks for when it doesn’t.
If there’s one system that breeds overconfidence in the neophyte, it’s ice protection gear. Ice in the forecast? You’ve got that known-ice Turbo Bugsmasher tucked away in a hangar just for such occasions. Problem solved, right? Not so fast.