1

Introduction
ThisleaaflethasbeeenproducedbytheEuuropeanGen
neralAviationSafetyTTeamEGAST
Tandis
intendeedtoprovid
deguidancetopilotsoffNonComp
plexAeropla
aneswithouutmodernIce
Protectionsystemsswhomayencounter inflightairfframeicing.

IcingcconditionsGeneral

Infligh
hticingaffterlandin
ng
Icewillformonan
naircraftifliquidwaterrimpactsapartoftheairframew
whichhasa
temperraturebelow
wfreezing.Atverylow
wtemperatu
ures,iceten
ndstoform
mclosetoleading
edgesaandisgenerrallyeasyto
osee.Atte mperaturessjustbelow
wzero,thei cespreadsback,is
lessvisiible,andafffectsmoreoftheairfraame.
Waterd
dropletsinccloudwithaatemperat urebelowffreezingdonotnecessaarilyturnin
ntoice.
Iftherearenopartticlesonwh
hichtheycaanglaciate,waterdrop
pletscanrem
mainsuperccooled
inliquid
dformdownto40C. Thesesuppercooleddrropletsaremostcomm
monlyfound
din
convecttivecloudw
withtemperraturesjust belowfree
ezingdownttoapproxim
mately10..
Althougghcumuluscloudswith
hsignificanttverticalmotionusuallycontaintthelargest
proporttionofsupeercooleddro
oplets,itis alsocommontofindh
highconcenntrationsof
superco
ooledliquid
dwateratth
hetopofst ratocumulu
uscloud.
Thesevverityoficin
ngcondition
nsvariesen ormously,aanddepend
dsonthecooncentrationof
superco
ooledliquid
dwaterandthedroplettsize.Whe
erethecloudataparticcularleveliis
compossedmainlyo
oficeparticcles,itmay bepossible
etoflythroughitwithooutencountering
superco
ooledliquid
dwater.Thu
usthetopoofashowerrcloudwhicchhasglaciaated(turnedtoice
crystalss,whichapp
pearwispy)islikelyto providelessssevereicin
ngthantheecauliflowe
eror
bubblin
ngtopofagrowingto
oweringcum
mulus.

Grow
wingcumulu
ustop

Drysno
owinflightrrepresentsalesssignifficanthazarrdforairframeicingas itusuallyd
doesnot
stick.However,impacticingisslikelytoocccuronairintakesand
dleadingeddges.
Typicallly,precipitaationstartsasiceand, asitfalls,eitherreacheslowerlevvelsassnow
wor
hail,ormeltsintorrainasitpaassesintoabbovefreezingtempera
aturesattheelowerleve
els.
mperaturessagain,itprroduces
Howeveer,ifrainfallsthroughaninversioonintosubffreezingtem
themosstsevereicingconditio
onsifitconttactsanairframe.Thissrainice,,alsoknown
nas
freezin
ngrain,isaaclearicetyypeanddiff
fficulttosee
eandbuildssupveryquuickly.

Effectssoficing
Iceonaanaerofoilcchangesitsproperties,,reducingliftandincre
easingdrag foragivenangle
ofattacck.Iceonapropellerb
bladereduccestheefficiencyofthe
epropelleraandreduce
es
thrust.Inaddition
n,theweigh
htoftheacccruediceincreasestheaircraftweeightandth
herefore
Becauseforragivenairrspeedtheaangleofattackmustbeeincreased
dto
theliftrequired.B
provideethenecesssarylift,the
ecritical(staalling)angle
eisreached
datahigherrairspeedtthan
whenicceisnotpreesent.TheStallspeed increases.
Pilotssh
houldalsob
beawareth
haticingon atailplanehasbeenknowntoca useunconttrollable
pitchfo
orcesasflap
pshavebeenlowered. Alwaysbepreparedtoreversea nyflapsele
ectionto
regainccontrol.

Theefffectofairfraameiceonaiircraftperforrmance

StallW
Warning
Sinceiccebuildupo
onthewinglowersthe stallangleofattackth
hestallwarnningsensorrmight
notpro
ovidewarnin
nginicingcconditions.PPilotsthere
eforeshould
d:

KnowtheP
POH/AFMm
minimumici ngairspeed
dsandtreattthemaslim
mitations,e
evenif
theyareno
otintheLim
mitationsse ction.Ifyou
urPOH/AFM
Mdoesnot haveminim
mum
icingairspeeeds,add15
520KIAStooyournorm
maloperatin
ngairspeed..Thisgoesfforall
phasesofflight,includ
dingapproaachandland
dingwheremostsmallairplaneicing
accidentso
occur,butbemindfulooftheeffecttonlanding
gdistancereequired.
Treatanyb
buffetorvib
brationasannimpendingwingstalll.
Limitmano
oeuvringiniicingcondittions.

Tempeerature
Theeffeectofadiab
baticcompressiondue tocompresssibilityand
dthekineticcheatingdu
ueto
frictionisnegligibleatairspee
edsuptoM
Mach0.2.Thereforeth
heTemperatturemeasu
uredby
asimpleeexternalttemperatureprobe(typpicalinGAaircraft)iscclosetotheeTotalAir
Temperrature(TAT),whichisaatlowspeeddsslightlyaabovethe
StaticA
AirTemperaature(SAT).
Theord
derofmagn
nitudeofdiffferencebettweenTATandSATathigherspeeedsis1Cat100
knotsand4Cat2
200knots.Theairfram
memaytherreforebeafewdegreeesabovethe
e
temperratureoftheeairoutside,whichofffersasmallbuthelpfulmitigationnagainstthe
eriskof
iceaccrretion..

Propelllericing
Ificeacccretesonaanunprotecctedpropelller,thethru
ustlostcanbesosignifficantthatyyou
mightn
notbeablettoclimboutoftheicinngcondition
nsormainta
ainthealtittude.

Iceoonpropellerblade

Aircrafftinicingcondition
ns
Theiceaccretionrrateovertim
meisnotonnlydepende
entonthea
atmosphericcconditions.The
geomettryoftheleeadingedgesoftheimppingedareaashaveagreatinfluencceonthe
efficiencyrateasw
wellasthesspeed.Iceteendstobuildfirstonp
partsofthe airframewitha
lowrad
diusofcurvaature.

Icceonlowraddiusofcurvaatureaerofoiils

Pilotssh
houldlooko
outforvisualcuesoficceaccretion
n.Soitwillfforexampleetendtofo
ormon
thetailp
planebeforrethemainplane,andssmallprotu
uberanceslikeatypicallGAtemperature
probeo
ordoorstop
pmaywellsseethefirstttracesoficcing.Firstsignsofice accretionm
may
alsobenoticedatthepropellerspinneroorthewindshieldfram
me.Pilotsshoouldlearnw
where
icingstaartstoform
montheirparticularairrframe,beccauseperforrmancecannbedegradedwith
quitesm
mallaccumu
ulationsoficing.Amiillimeteroficeissufficienttoaffe ctsomemo
odern
aerofoils.
Therateesoficingaaccretioncaanbedifficuulttopredicctandcanvvarysubstanntially,becaauseof
differen
ncesinliquidwatercon
ncentrationn.Conditionsthatlookkthesame canbringicce
accumu
ulationratessthatvarybyanorderrofmagnitu
udeormore
e.Thisvariaabilitymeansthat
onefligghtinvisibleemoistureb
belowfreezzingmayno
otaccumulateanysigniificantamountof
ice.Ho
owever,onaanotherocccasioninappparentlysim
milarcondittionsapilottmayencou
untera
significaanticingpro
oblem.

Flight invisiblemo
oisture

Inseverreicingconditions,the
eiceaccreti oncanbeco
omecriticalwithinafeewminutes.

Aeroplaneicep
protection
ncertificattion
Modern
naeroplaneeiceprotecttionsystem
mscanbece
ertifiedinacccordancew
withregulattions
suchasCS23.1419
9orFAAAC
C23.14192..TheFlightManualwilllcontaina statementtothe
effectThisairplan
neisapprovvedforflighhtinicingco
onditionsassdefinedinpart25,Ap
ppendix
C.Such
hcertificationwasintrroducedby theFAAin1973andevvidencesthheaircrafts
capabiliitytoflyinawideranggeoficingcconditionsfo
orsignifican
ntperiods. Whilesom
me
acciden
nts(suchasthelossofAmericanEEagleFlight4184nearC
Chicagoin11994,anAT
TRthat
encounteredfreezzingrain)ind
dicatethat natureiscaapableofge
eneratingevvenmoreextreme
ons,suchceertificationeffectively entitlesacrrewtorelyontheantiicingordeicing
conditio
systemsstocopew
withanynormalicing conditionslikelytobe
eencounterred.

Byconttrast,aircrafftwithouticeprotectioon,andtho
osecertifiedtoearlystaandardsforrflight
ine.g.lighticingcconditionsormoderaateicingco
onditionsoffernosuchhguarantee
etothe
crew.Ittisvitalforrcrewsofsu
uchaircrafttocreateaacontingenccyplanthattguarantee
esthey
cantaketheaircraaftoutoficingconditioonsificingissencounterredduringfflight.Therrestof
thisguidanceisaim
medatpilottsoftheseaaircraft.

Prefligghtplanning
Itisofteenimpracticaltoplanaflightina waythatle
eavesnopo
ossibilityfor
ricingcondiitionsto
beenco
ountered,in
nthesamewaythatit isimpracticcaltoplana
aflightonaaconvective
edayin
awaythatleavesn
nopossibilittyforanenncounterwitthcumulon
nimbus,beccauseitisne
ever
possibleetobecerttainexactlywheresuchhacloudwo
ouldform.But,justassacrewmu
ust
alwayshaveaplan
nwhichallowsthemtooavoidflyingintoathu
understormthatappeaarson
theirinttendedroute,sotheymusthave aplantoavvoidicingco
onditionsm
moreseverethan
theairccraftssystems,ifany,ccancopew ith,andtoe
escapefrom
manysuch icingthatiss
actuallyyencounterred.
Usuallythismeanssaplantod
descendintoowarmerair,butinso
omecircumsstancesitm
maybe
whichhasallready
possibleetoclimbaabovetheiccinglayer. However,aanaircraftw
accumu
ulatedicehaasasignificcantlypooreerperformaancethanacleanairfraame,soitm
maynot
alwaysbepossibleetoclimbab
boveanicinnglayer.A
Anunderuse
edbuteffecctivemanoe
euvre
wheniccingisencounteredisssimplytoreeversecourssebacktocconditionstthatwereiccefree.
Thusakkeypreflightplanninggcheckistoocomparethefreezing levelwithm
minimum
practicaableIFRaltitudes.Asw
withotherssortsofhazaardouswea
ather,someecooperation
fromATTCmaybeaassumed,butterrains afelowerle
evelsmaynotalwaysbbeavailable
e,for
examplearoundbusyTMAs.
nadecadeaago,aviationnforecastscanpredictttemperatuuresandwinds
Comparredtoeven
aloftmuchmoreaccurately.Notethereelativehumidityatplan
nnedcruisinngaltitudes;that
canoffeersomeguiidanceonth
hepresenceeofcloud.However,inanunstabbleairmass,,
cumulifformcloudsscananddo
oriseintolaayersofthe
eatmospherewithlow
werhumidityy.

MetSignnificantweattherchart

Somew
websitesprovideunoffficialbutus efulcrossssectionweatherinform
mationforpositions
orroutees,includingfreezingle
evels.

CourtessyoftheOgimetsite

whensubfreezingtemperatturesalofttareforeccast
Prefligghtaircrafftchecksw
Thepito
otstaticsysstemshould
dbecheckeedforwaterrwhichcan freezeand blockthessystem.
Ifpitotandstaticd
drainsarefitted,know wheretheyyareandho
owtousethhem.
ensystemsareoperati ngcorrectlyy.De
Checktthatalltheaairframe,prropelleranddwindscree
icingsystemssuffeerfromneglectandmaayprovefau
ultywhenre
equired.Leaaksmayhave
develop
pedininflattablebootsespeciallyoonthetailp
plane(dueto
ostonesthrrownupbyythe
landingggear/propeellers),socheckthatthheyallinflateproperly.

DeIcingB
BootwithPattchRepairs

Checkaanyotherpaartsoftheaairframewhherewatercanaccumu
ulate,payinngparticularr
attentio
onthatconttrolsarefre
ee.
Checktthatthepito
otheaterre
eallyiswarm
mingthepittotheadb
butdon'tbuurnyourhand(use
thebacckofit)orflattentheb
battery.

Groun
ndDeIcingg
Whilethisguidancceisnotinte
endedtoadddressgrounddeicing procedure s,itisofcourse
essentiaalthattheaaircraftisan
ndremains freeofallicebeforefllight.Iceonnanaerofoilwill
significaantlyreduceeyourtakeoffperform
mance.Sno
owwillnotblowoff,anndneitherw
will
frost.M
MaintaintheeCleanWingconceppt
IcingCo
ontaminatio
ononaircraftsurfaces mustberemovedbefo
oretakeoff topreventany
handlin
ngandcontrroldifficulties,perform
mancelosso
ormechaniccaldamage..
Deicinggisaprocedurethatre
emovessnoow,frostandslushfrom
mtheaircraaftwhileantiicing
preventtscontamin
nationbyfro
ost/ice/snoowforalimiitedperiod(HoldOver
rtime).

10

Variousstypesofflu
uidsareavaailable:

TypeI(deiicingonly),
TypeII/III/IV(antiicinggfluids),co ntainingap
pseudoplassticthickeniingagent,w
which
enablestheefluidtoformathickeerliquidwetttingfilmon
nexternalaaircraftsurfaaces.
TypeIIIfluidisintende
edforaircraaftwithslow
wrotationsspeed.

Whenffluidsareussed,increaserotationsspeedandaanticipatein
ncreasedta keoffdistaance
and/orgreatersticckforces.

FFrostedWing

Aircraffticingsce
enarios
Atypicaalscenariofforicingencountersis convectivecloudrising
gupthrougghthefreezzing
levelon
nanunstableday.Ifyyourcruisingglevelisab
bovethefreezinglevel butbelowtthe
tops,yo
oufacethepotentialfo
oricing.Whheretheco
onvectiveclo
oudsareweellscattered
dandit
ispossibletoseethemitmayybepossibleetoavoidthemandth
heassociateedicingconditions.
Bearinmindhoweeverthatthisrequiresvvisualconditionsanda
anyiceaccuumulationo
onthe
windshieldislikelyytolimitthe
eoptionsfoorfurtherviisualavoida
ance.

Convectiveclouudsmaybeaavoidedvisually

11

Thetop
psofstratoccumulusclo
ouds,especiiallyjustbelowaninve
ersion,oftenncontainhiigh
concenttrationsofssupercooledliquidwatter.Theirsignificanthorizontalexxtentmeansthat
icingiscontinuouss,andonlyaalevelchanngecanprovviderelieffromtheicinngcondition
ns.

Stratocuumuluscloud
dsahead

Flightin
ncoldairbeelowprecipitatingclouudinwarme
erairabove,asforexam
mpleunderra
warmfrrontoroccllusion,islikkelytoexpooseanaircraafttotheha
azardofrainnice,which
hcan
buildup
pveryrapid
dlyandbed
difficulttoseee.Monito
orthetemperaturegauuge,andifrrainis
experieencedinsub
bzerotemp
peratures,leeavetheco
onditionsim
mmediately.

Raininfreezingcconditionssh
houldbeavo
oided

Climbin
ngthroughaathinlayeroficingconnditionsisggenerallymo
oreproblem
maticthan
descend
dingthrougghone.Intheclimb,sppeedisusuaallylowersotheairfra meiscoole
erand
theanggleofattackkexposesm
moreofthew
wingtopottentialiceaccumulatio n.Verticallspeed
islimiteedbytheaircraftsperfformanceaandrateofcclimbprogressivelyredducesasice
eforms,

12

increasiingthetimeespentinth
heicinglayeer.Informaationonclo
oudbaseisuusuallymore
e
accurattethanonthelevelofcloudtops, sothedepthoftheiciinglayerism
morepredictable
whendescending.
Althouggh,inprinciple,accumu
ulatedicinggcanberem
movedbysu
ublimationiinclearaire
evenin
temperraturesbelo
owfreezing,,suchaproocessisgene
erallyslow.Evensmal lamountso
oficing
encounteredonaclimbtocle
earairabovvecanleadttoadeterio
orationinpeerformance
eand
increaseedfuelconsumption,w
whichshou ldbecarefu
ullyconsideredinprefflightplanning.

13

SUMM
MARY
Action
nsonenco
ounteringicing
Considerth
heavailable
eoptionsto mitigaterisskimmediately.While theaccumulation
ofsmallam
mountsoficemaynotcconstituteaanemergency,itdoesrrequireimm
mediate
attention,aandacontin
ngencyplannmustbeavailableiftheicingconnditionsperrsistor
worsen.
Performan
nyactionsre
equiredbyttheFlightM
Manual,whichmayinclludeforexaample
theselectio
onofalternateair.Pitootheatsho
ould,ofcourrse,alreadyybeon.Typ
pically,
useoftheaautopilotisdiscourageedorprohib
bitedinicing
g.
Whereequ
uipped,usedeicingeq uipmentassdirectedbyytheFlightManual,bu
utdo
notrelyonsuchequip
pmenttoall owflightin
nicingconditionsindeffinitely.In
nti/deicem
mayhelptoavoidsome
eperformanncedeterio
oration.
particular,propelleran
Monitoran
nyaccumulaationcarefuully,rememberingthaticeislikelyytobuildmore
rapidlyonp
partsofthe
eairframethhatarenoteasilyvisible.
LiaisewithATCtounderstandtheeavailableaalternativelevelsorrooutes
Leavetheiccingconditiionsbefore aircraftperformanceorcontrollaabilitysuffersany
significantd
deterioratio
on.
Anticipateaahigherstaallspeedifiicinghasaccumulated,andanticippatehigher fuel
consumptio
on.
Considerhiigherappro
oachspeedss,andkeeppowerond
duringthelaanding.
Anticipatepossiblepittchforcesd uringflapm
movement
bereadyttoreversetthe
selection

UsefullLinks
TheAOPAAirSafetyFoundatiionhaswritttenseveralSafetyAdvisorsoniccingthatpilotswill
finduseeful.Youcanfindthese
eat:
http:///www.aopa.org/asf/publications/aadvisors.htm
ml.
Thereaarealsonum
merousicinggtrainingp roductspro
oducedbyN
NASA,incoooperationw
withthe
FAA.Th
hesearelistedat:
http://iceboxesn.ggrc.nasa.go
ov/educatio n/products.html
http://aaircrafticingg.grc.nasa.gov/courses .html

14

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Pictureecredits
Coverp
picture:Diam
mondAircraaftIndustriees
Documeent picturees: Transpo
ortation Saffety Bureau
u of Hunga
ary (KBSZ),, UK Civil Aviation
A
Authoriity(CAA),DavidCockburn,UKMeetOffice,DiaamondAirccraftIndustrries

Contacctdetailsforenquiries:
EuropeaanGeneralAviationSaafetyTeam
Email:eegast@easaa.europa.eu
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egast