De-iced or not
Just had the following that I believe came from the UK FS. - ouch
In January an aircraft stood on the ramp of a European airport for an
extended period of time in sub-zero temperatures.
The aircraft was prepared for flight and when all the necessary checks
had been completed the doors were closed.
The aircraft was de-iced using a 25% de-icing fluid 75% water mix at 80
degrees centigrade. As required in the procedures. The aircraft appeared
free of ice and the aircraft departed the stand and taxied for take-off.
Shortly thereafter a ground crewman noticed that the area where the
aircraft had been de-iced was covered in solid ice instead of a de-icing
fluid and ice slurry. He immediately raised the alarm and the aircraft
was recalled to the stand where it was found to be covered in clear ice.
An investigation is underway however and initial report suggests that
the mixing valve on the de-icing rig may have failed and that very
little if any de-icing fluid had been mixed with the water at the time
of de-icing. The aircraft may have in fact been de-iced with hot water
only.
The aircrew were given the de-icing certificate but neither the Captain
not the de-icing crew had any way of knowing that the valve had failed
as no volumes of water or de-icing fluid were provided on the
certificate, therefore no error check was possible.
In this case a serious incident or more likely a nasty accident was
averted by the experience, knowledge and quick thinking of the ground
crewman.