12 January 2009
The CAA has issued what it calls ‘a seasonal appeal’ to pilots and ground crew to not underestimate the potential dangers of icing and ground frost.
The appeal was issued in the wake of last week’s cold temperatures, it says ‘ultimately, an aircraft should never take off with any form of contamination on its wings, particularly ice, snow and frost (although some types may be permitted some frost on lower wing surfaces).’
The CAA suggests that pilots should take the <a href=’http://aircrafticing.grc.nasa.gov/courses.html’ target=’_blank’>free online course from NASA</a> on the risks of icing, how to spot it and how to combat it.
Captain Graham Stokes, a Flight Operations Inspector at the CAA, said: ‘We want to ensure that staff who have anything at all to do with de-icing an aircraft take the task very, very seriously. Flight crew and ground staff need to work together as a team and training needs to be delivered properly.’
The CAA reminds pilots that the 2002 crash of a Bombardier 604 at Birmingham was caused by ‘the left wing stalling at an abnormally low angle of attack due to flow disturbance resulting from frost contamination of the wing’.
