The FAA has finally put a regulatory nail in the coffin of ice bridging with a new rule requiring Part 121 airline pilots to activate deicing systems at the first indication of ice accumulation. Yet at the same time, the FAA has completely ignored a huge opportunity to improve safety for Part 91 and 135 operators that fly in icing conditions.
The new rule will become law on October 21 and apply only to Part 121 aircraft that weigh less than 60,000 pounds. The rule won’t apply to the heavier Bombardier Dash 8-Q400, one of which, operated by Colgan Air, stalled in flight following an autopilot level-off and subsequently crashed near Buffalo, N.Y., on Feb. 12, 2009. The aircraft had accumulated some ice during the approach.
Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.
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