Icing Stories

Ice isn’t nice. And this time of year, it’s much easier to find when airborne in most places throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Thankfully, forecasting and reporting technologies have improved over the years to the point where, at least in our experience, it’s rare to find ice where it wasn’t in a forecast. At the same time, even piston singles can be equipped for flight in known icing conditions, albeit briefly. All that is to say icing shouldn’t be the problem it used to be. Unless, of course, you’re off your plan, or the forecasters blow it.

Key Takeaways:

• Pilots can encounter unexpected and severe icing conditions, both airborne and on the ground, despite thorough pre-flight briefings, advanced forecasting, or efforts to avoid known icing.
• Safe resolution of icing encounters requires immediate and decisive action, leveraging all available resources including aircraft anti-ice/de-ice systems, altitude/heading changes, and communication with ATC for priority assistance.
• Even aircraft certified for known icing have limitations; such equipment is designed for temporary extrication from icing, not for prolonged flight in severe conditions, which can quickly overwhelm an aircraft's capabilities.

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