Riley Jackson
Federal Aviation Administration, Aviation Weather Division
ABSTRACT
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, structural in-flight icing was identified as the cause or a factor in at least 23 aircraft accidents that resulted in 14 fatalities from 2008 to 2022. This highlights the importance of helping pilots to understand this potentially fatal in-flight, year-round hazard. As part of a group project, summer interns from across the Federal Aviation Administration created a set of 3 videos to assist in a pilot’s ability to safely navigate through icing. The project involved developing a detailed schedule outlining the key milestones and deadlines to finish this project on a strict deadline. Each member of the cohort had a different task as everyone was in different majors. This meant that some cohort members have specific skills in meteorology, aviation, graphic design, or video editing.
Video 1 introduced pilots to the different types of icing. Discussed were structural, engine, and instrument icing. Video 2 discussed the methods that pilots can use to help forecast icing, using the Aviation Weather Center’s website to access PIREP and METAR data. The video also discusses how to use this data and tips to identify freezing rain or drizzle, fog, and low cloud in METAR reports. Video 3 discusses what a pilot should do if they find themselves in an icing situation and the mitigation measures that they should take.
This poster provides an overview of how the intern team came together to tackle this task, as well as a compilation of introducing pilots to the hazards of icing, emphasizing the dangers, and showing the importance of preparing for icing to ensure that have a safe flight.
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