The Effects of Frozen Precipitation on Aviation

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Abstract The effects of frozen precipitation can have devastating consequences to aviation. This paper examines three aircraft accidents where frozen precipitation in the form of frost and ice were contributing factors. A distinction is made to show how frozen precipitation affected three key areas of flight operations: ground operations/takeoff, en-route operations, and approach/landing. A conclusion is reached which highlights that understanding the effect of frozen precipitation on aviation will lead to a better understanding of this weather phenomenon and may indeed prevent aircraft accidents. The Effects of Frozen Precipitation on Aviation What do N90AG, American Eagle 4184, and Colgan Air 3407 have in common? Each of these aircraft was involved in a fatal accident in which frozen precipitation was a contributing factor or causal to their demise. Even very small amounts of frozen precipitation in the form of frost, ice, snow, and slush, can have devastating effects on flying. I examined each of the aircraft accidents to determine what effect(s) frozen precipitation had on three general areas of aircraft operations: ground operations/takeoff, en-route operations, and approach/landing. Studying the effect of frozen precipitation on aircraft operations will lead to a better understanding of this weather phenomenon and provide the aviation community with some basic information to help prevent devastating accidents similar to the three described here. Discussion Ground Operations and Takeoff Weather can be quite unpredictable, and can change quite significantly in certain conditions. This was the case with N90AG on January 4, 2002. According to the United Kingdom’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), the Challenger 604 aircraft arrived in Birmingham England at 8:40pm and was scheduled to depart around noon the following day to Bangor

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