Weather Hazards posing the greatest risk to aviation operations

 

 

Icing Conditions: The Weather Hazards that pose the greatest risk to aviation operations.

 

there are various Weather Hazards that pose a risk to Aviation Operations, one weather hazard that can affect aircraft performance, engine operations, visibility and the flight operation as a whole is Icing Conditions.  luckily, in the pursuit of conducting flight operations in a safe manner there are many resources available to pilots, such as weather reports, anti-ice and de-ice aircraft equipment, and also ground equipment that can de-ice and provide a layer of protection from icing until the plane is at higher altitudes where atmospheric phenomenon don’t result in ice being a possibility.

Icing conditions are perhaps one of the most feared weather hazards by Pilots and operators due to the devasting effects it can have on engine operation, aircraft performance and also during take-off and landing, think iced runways.

As most pilots flying in the state of Florida, Icing and its effects is something that we study but for the most part never get to experience in real life until we either advance in our careers flying Jets or get to fly up north where Icing conditions are an everyday thing that pilots need to plan for in order to conduct their flights safely. 

Pilots know that Ice is possible and also likely to be present when atmospheric conditions include temperatures at 10 degrees Celsius or less and visibly moisture is present in the air. For structural icing the temperature has to be zero degrees Celsius, which would freeze the visible moisture present in the air when it comes in contact with the aircraft.

ice buildup on surfaces of an airplane which results in performance issues, examples of this would be the weight increase due to ice adhering to the skin of the aircraft, and also the change in the airfoil shape due to the ice buildup which also will generate a decrease in aerodynamic performance due to the roughness of the ice, affecting the generation of lift the airfoil was design for. 

Icing also affects movement of parts, blocks intakes and vital sensors such as static ports and Pitot tubes that are indispensable to the accurate reading of flight instruments such as airspeed indicator and altimeter. 

Luckily the Aviation Weather Center/NOAA National Weather center provides weather advisory tools available to general aviation pilots and gives us vital information to plan our flights such as freezing level charts, current icing Sigmets, reported Aircraft Icing, among others.

When flights are to be conducted in known Icing conditions, certified aircraft are equipped with anti-ice and deicing equipment, such as heated elements, inflatable deicing boots, Pitot tube heating, etc.  Used accordingly these devices will help mitigate or prevent the effects of icing and provide the measures to fly safely in icing conditions.   

If you want to learn more about icing and how it affects aviation, here's some resources that I think will be interesting. 

https://www.aviationweather.gov/icing

 

https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/weather/awrp/ifi

 

Reference

Icing Hazards. (n.d.). Www.weather.gov. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.weather.gov/source/zhu/ZHU_Training_Page/icing_stuff/icing/icing.htm#:~:text=This%20condition%20is%20most%20often