There are many environmental factor that affect aircraft performance, however, for this blog post I have chosen to discuss icing. In a study conducted by the ACTF in the  2011 – 2015 period, they found that in LOC-I accidents, 42% met with meteorological threats, of this percentage, 40% encountered icing conditions. Hence, this threat plays a substantial part in the total number of LOC-I disasters. When big convective clouds hold vast amounts of super-cooled water liquid droplets being below 0 degrees Celsius, these droplets are inclined to freezing instantaneously and adhering to the airframe. When not overcome by in-place anti-icing systems, these droplets can result in a decrease of lift and an increase in weight of the airframe which due to the implications of aerodynamics, may lead to a decrease in aircraft performance, resulting in a catastrophe. Icing in engine intakes can disrupt the engine gas path, as well as icing in probes and sensors can cause system failures and automation loss. When an airplane is on the ground, significant icing can also develop. In order to prevent LOC-I accidents and accidents in general regarding accidents, the best practice is prevention. When on ground, during pre-flight checks, pilots and maintenance workers must be on the lookout for ice, frost, and snow contamination. If ice is seen, the required de-icing and anti-icing protocols must be completed prior to flight to safeguard the plane, its passengers and staff (IATA 2016). When in flight, exit the conditions immediately if you detect substantial performance reduction. Ice protection systems are best used as a security tactic to buy time until the icing conditions are no longer present or you are able to exit. In every in-flight icing emergency, there are normally 5 safety outlets and a priority handling device.  A pilot has the ability to climb, descend, continue, divert, and return (RocketRoute, 2021)


Resources:

RocketRoute. (2021, July 28). Flying in Icing Conditions and Useful Flight Planning Icing Reports. Retrieved January 20, 2022, from https://www.rocketroute.com/blog/flying-in-icing-conditions-and-useful-flight-planning-icing-reports


IATA. (2016). Environmental Factors Affecting Loss of Control In-Flight. FlightSafety. https://flightsafety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IATA-guidance-loci-environmental-factors-affecting-loci-1st-edition.pdf

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Air Traffic Control Entities

Image
Ethics are defined by the Oxford dictionary as “moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.” In any industry, specially one with as much human contact as aviation, ethics are crucial. This brings me back to my first post for this course. Aviation ethics to me mean operating in a manner that guarantees safety for passengers, employees and the general public; while operating in a transparent, honest way. In order to ensure ethics in aviation, air carriers and the general industry must hold privacy, confidentiality, honesty, and equity as their primary values. They must do this to ensure everyones safety as well as foster a fair industry. Which leads me to discussing two different but cooperative agencies of air traffic control. The FAA defines air traffic control as "the services conducted by proper authority to facilitate the safe, orderly, and expeditious circulation of air traffic.” In the case of the USA, ground-based ATC are certifi...
Read more

The Federal Aviation Act of 1958

Image
In this blog post I would like to talk about one of the most revolutionary acts (in its time) which was passed by the USA in 1958. This act is known as the Federal Aviation Act, in simple words, this act created what we know as the FAA, when all duties from the Civil Aeronautics Authority were passed onto this new, and most importantly independent organization. Although not entirely independent, as the FAA is a federal authority and reports directly to congress, it was an organization very different to the CAA. Now, why was this law important? In my opinion it was crucial, as the new FAA was tasked with the duty for promoting air traffic control installations, promulgating air traffic laws, and overseeing all airspace regulation. We can see the need for a regulatory authority such as the FAA if we look back on some of America’s worst catastrophes. As many authors have cited in my research, one of the accidents that pushed for this legislation was the Grand Canyon collision (United,...
Read more

Weather Hazards - Hail

Image
All weather hazards could mean a greatest risk to aviation operations, however, in my post I have chosen to speak about hail. Hail is part of the category of Thunderstorms, which are categorized as hazardous by the DOT (2013), as they can result in an aircraft accident and deaths for passengers and crew on board. Hail falls under the “single cell” category, as on hot and humid summer days, a single cell (or common) thunderstorm cell will frequently form. These cells have the potential to be severe, producing hail and microburst winds.The most dangerous thunderstorm threat to airplanes is hail, which competes with turbulence. Drops that have been supercooled above the freezing point begin to solidify. When a drop freezes, subsequent droplets latch on, causing the hailstone to expand (sometimes even into a massive iceball). Severe thunderstorms with powerful air currents that have risen to enormous heights generate massive hail. These will inevitably fall, and  may be seen in the skies ...
Read more