ICE ON WINGS
Joined: Nov 1999
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 3,150
Likes: 744
From: UK
I know I am going to get a beating for saying this but here it goes anyway:
I wish I could see more respect for a decision that was made by a fellow professional pilot. This is a rumor network, granted, but the OP still knows the flight number and the airline and might try to get the crew flying that day into trouble, all because someone in the internet that is supposedly a pilot is saying - from the comfort of his/her home - that, based on a blurry picture, procedures were not followed, proper checks were not carried out, and safety was compromised.
I wish I could see more respect for a decision that was made by a fellow professional pilot. This is a rumor network, granted, but the OP still knows the flight number and the airline and might try to get the crew flying that day into trouble, all because someone in the internet that is supposedly a pilot is saying - from the comfort of his/her home - that, based on a blurry picture, procedures were not followed, proper checks were not carried out, and safety was compromised.
As you know, in aviation we generally pride ourselves on discovering the causes of accidents or almost-accidents, so that whatever the reasons were, lessons can be learned. The crew will only “get into trouble” if they deliberately do something wrong, e.g. refuse to de-ice. Wing upper surfaces must be completely clear of contamination. Are they? Difficult to tell from the photo, but I can see white patches which can only be frozen water of one kind or another.
Remember the Potomac river disaster, where there were a whole catalogue of errors in icing conditions.
If the passenger is truly concerned he/she should have contacted the relevant authorities upon arrival, not an internet forum.
If I had to take seriously all the comments.... .
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 134
Likes: 6
From: expat
The OP took care not to identify the flight and hence the crew.
Their post is not mischievous or fishing.
If they now contact the airline involved the correct processes will presumably be followed to review if a mistake was actually made and to correct any deficiencies if necessary.
It’s not malicious, it’s constructive.
Their post is not mischievous or fishing.
If they now contact the airline involved the correct processes will presumably be followed to review if a mistake was actually made and to correct any deficiencies if necessary.
It’s not malicious, it’s constructive.
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: oxford
It might be ice, it might be not. I have it many times these days that the fuel temperature is around 1-2 degrees, we have some moisture in the air with low temperatures close to freezing and the only thing you find on the wing is a thin layer of water. Maybe the crew had somebody do a clear Ice check and they didnt see the necessity for a de-ice.
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,167
Likes: 180
From: USA
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 1,396
Likes: 148
From: Weltschmerz-By-The-Sea Australia
One of my former colleagues was operating a flight from a new station with no de-icing equipment. A passenger objected about the contaminated wings to a cabin crew member. I don’t recall if the message got passed to the flight deck. Anyway...most of them died right after Vr, including the crew members concerned.
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 2,188
Likes: 6
From: La Belle Province
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,569
Likes: 1
From: Florida
Personally, I would have come out and had a look myself.
Anyway, if you want to see a real eye opener take a look at the following China Airlines clip:
https://youtu.be/D6OjSd3ojHE
Anyway, if you want to see a real eye opener take a look at the following China Airlines clip:
https://youtu.be/D6OjSd3ojHE
Joined: Sep 2006
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 682
Likes: 16
From: Out of a bag
There’s a lot of information we don’t know. When was it de-iced. What was the fluid mix. What was the holdover time. In heavy precipitation the wing could well have snow on post de-icing but still be protected. I doubt they would have departed in those conditions without having considered winter SOPs.
Joined: Jun 2001
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 4,578
Likes: 412
From: FNQ ... It's Permanent!
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 152
Likes: 0
From: Northern Europe
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 1,396
Likes: 148
From: Weltschmerz-By-The-Sea Australia
There’s a lot of information we don’t know. When was it de-iced. What was the fluid mix. What was the holdover time. In heavy precipitation the wing could well have snow on post de-icing but still be protected. I doubt they would have departed in those conditions without having considered winter SOPs.
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 34
Likes: 18
From: The Colonies
I'd be curious to know what the reported visibility was. Even if the critical surfaces had been treated, which is far from obvious, the snowfall intensity seems likely to be in excess of anything for which there's a published holdover time.
Joined: Apr 2015
Aviation Qualifications: Spotter
Posts: 1,130
Likes: 429
From: Under the radar, over the rainbow
It certainly looks scary. We should remember, though, that the video was shot though a long (telephoto) lens, which compresses whatever is in the air between camera and subject. Still, there's obviously a lot of snow falling.
Joined: Sep 2001
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
Posts: 2,787
Likes: 208
From: Toronto
Airbus can have hoarfrost on the top surface of the tanks with cold soaked fuel, even on a 20C day, and many A types are approved for takeoff in that condition as the chief pilot of a former employer advised me after I put in a query. Of course lift from that small section of the wing is next to nothing, but the rest of the wing still works.
Dry snow accumulation on an already cold wing during taxi with air temperature below 0C will blow off.
Other cases can be problematic.
There are combinations of wing, air and precipitation temperature that demand de-icing with a holdover time, generally when the precip sticks to the wing. I remember being seated over the wing. We were de-iced at the gate in ORD and joined the conga line. In the early takeoff acceleration, the entire blanket of snow slid off the wings and joined the pile left by departing aircraft.
Everything above 0C is good as is everything well below 0C.
Dry snow accumulation on an already cold wing during taxi with air temperature below 0C will blow off.
Other cases can be problematic.
There are combinations of wing, air and precipitation temperature that demand de-icing with a holdover time, generally when the precip sticks to the wing. I remember being seated over the wing. We were de-iced at the gate in ORD and joined the conga line. In the early takeoff acceleration, the entire blanket of snow slid off the wings and joined the pile left by departing aircraft.
Everything above 0C is good as is everything well below 0C.