Beware the 'Pilot's Halo'

Beware the ‘Pilot’s Halo’

Stephen Pope

Thursday, January 03, 2013 at 10:17 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A "pilot's halo" is a rainbow ring around an airplane's shadow, indicating liquid moisture in a cloud and signaling a high risk of airframe icing if temperatures are freezing.
Pilots should avoid descending into cloud layers exhibiting a pilot's halo if their aircraft is not approved for flight into known icing, ideally waiting until VFR conditions are present.
If icing is encountered, pilots must exit the conditions quickly (by climbing, descending, or diverting), maintain adequate airspeed, and consider keeping flaps in the up position.

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Have you ever been flying over a cloud deck and noticed a rainbow halo around the shadow of your airplane? Besides being pretty to look at, this ring-shaped rainbow – called a “pilot’s halo” or “glory of the pilot” because we’re usually the only ones who get to see it – should be a clue to you that the cloud holds liquid moisture.

So what, you ask? If the temperature is in the freezing range and you descend into that cloud, you can expect icing.