Airframe and Induction Icing
2,577 occurrences · 687 fatal · 3,792 fatalities · 1949–2026
What it is
Icing accidents result from ice forming on the aircraft in flight — most often on the wings, tail, or control surfaces (airframe icing), but also inside the engine's induction system on some piston aircraft (carburetor icing). Ice changes the shape of an airfoil enough to degrade lift and increase drag, and in the induction case can starve an engine of air entirely.
Why it happens
Airframe ice forms when an aircraft flies through visible moisture — cloud, freezing rain, or fog — at temperatures near or below freezing, and it accumulates fastest when a pilot is not expecting icing conditions or delays using anti-ice equipment. Carburetor icing is more insidious because it can occur even in clear air at temperatures well above freezing, as the fuel-air mixture cools sharply inside the carburetor.
How the industry defends against it
Transport aircraft carry certified ice-protection systems — heated leading edges, pneumatic deicing boots, or bleed-air anti-ice — along with icing detection and specific pilot procedures for entering, exiting, or avoiding known icing conditions. Weather briefings, pilot reports (PIREPs), and onboard icing advisories give crews advance warning to activate protection or reroute before ice accumulates.
What this means for passengers
Airliners are certified to operate in known icing conditions with dedicated ice-protection systems and are dispatched with icing forecasts built into the flight plan, giving crews time to react before ice becomes a problem. A meaningful share of the accidents in this database involve smaller aircraft without airframe ice-protection equipment, or piston engines vulnerable to carburetor icing that jets do not share.
Aircraft families
- McDonnell Douglas DC-911
- ATR 42/7211
- Lockheed C-130 Hercules1
- Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II1
- Bombardier CRJ1
- Boeing 7671
- Boeing 7571
- Boeing 7371
- Boeing 7271
- Airbus A3301
Countries
- United States2,188
- Chile41
- United Kingdom38
- Canada32
- France30
- South Africa20
- Switzerland18
- Poland15
- Russia14
- Germany9
Notable investigated accidents
- 1985-12-12 — Arrow Air (256 fatalities)
- 2009-06-01 — Air France occured (228 fatalities)
- 2014-07-24 — Swiftair (116 fatalities)
- 1993-03-05 — Palair Macedonian (83 fatalities)
- 1997-10-10 — Austral Lineas Aéreas (74 fatalities)
- 2010-11-04 — Aerocaribbean (68 fatalities)
- 1994-10-31 — American Eagle Airlines (68 fatalities)
- 2024-08-09 — VoePass Linhas Aéreas (62 fatalities)
- 1972-10-27 — Air Inter (60 fatalities)
- 1971-12-01 — Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines (57 fatalities)
- 2004-11-21 — 中国东方航空 China Eastern (55 fatalities)
- 1960-01-18 — Capital Airlines (USA) (50 fatalities)
Counts are derived from official investigation records; one accident may involve several causes, and older or foreign records can be incomplete. This page explains patterns — it is not a safety ranking.