NTSB Issues Recommendation for Advisory Circular on General Aviation Icing Hazards

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a formal recommendation directed at the Federal Aviation Administration. The board advises that the agency issue an advisory circular concerning the flight of small general aviation airplanes in icing conditions. This new document should contain current technological and operational information aimed at helping pilots minimize the potential hazards of an icing encounter. The circular must include specific explanatory material related to the importance of maintaining an appropriate minimum airspeed during sustained flight in icing conditions. It should also address the hazards of an ice-induced tailplane stall, the effects of flap extension and airspeed on an ice-contaminated airplane, and aircraft performance degradation due to icing because of increased drag and stalling speeds. Furthermore, the guidance must cover the relatively high ice collection efficiency of tailplane surfaces, ways and means of reliably determining the existence and extent of tailplane icing, and the limitations of aircraft certified for flight in icing conditions to provide protection against freezing rain, freezing drizzle, and mixed icing conditions.