Re: Refrigerator monitor ideas?

["Robert L Bass" <no-sales-spam@bassburglaralarms>]

>> Wing ice is a major problem.  It can build up very fast when conditions are right for it.
>>
>>> I believe someone used diluted deicer
>>> that actually froze up on the wing surfaces.
>>
>> That is not what happened.  It was a 737.  The pilot made several mistakes.  First, he used reverse thrusters to try to push back
>> because the airplane's wheels were bogged in heavy snow at the ramp.  Then he tried using the hot exhaust of the airliner ahead
>> of him to melt ice on his own wings.  Instead of removing the ice, it allowed the water to refreeze on the trailing edges of his
>> wings. The deice boots on a 737 don't help with ice on the trailing edges but that would not have mattered anyway.  The pilot
>> didn't even use his deicing system on or before takeoff.
>
> Icing on the ground has the problem of being over larger areas than can be handled by airplanes equipment.  Airports in areas
> prone to this have deicing areas where they can wash down the plane with ice removing materials.  The problem is then the time
> between the deicing and taking off so they can get above the problem.

True.  However, he should have noticed several problems.  The facts indicate he ignored repeated warnings from the FO during the
take-off roll.  He also violated company (not FAA) policy by using reverse thrusters at the gate.

> When they added a new runway to Minneapolis St Paul International (MSP), they also built new deicing pads at the taxiway ends by
> each runway.  That way, they can do the deicing after planes do any waiting on a backed up taxiway and shortly before they get in
> the air.

Coincidentally, the last time I was at the Twin Cities we had to wait all night due to ice and snow.  I was enroute to Hartford from
Las Vegas after attending the CES show.  At the time I was a student pilot and I happened to meet the copilot of the airplane I was
to fly while waiting out the storm.  This was pre-9/11 and guess who got a jump seat ride.  For a new student pilot that was a major
thrill.  :^)

>> The first officer repeatedly told the pilot they were in trouble (or words to that  effect) but he refused to listen.
>
> Public TV had a special on about a crash of a British jet that ran into another while taking off because the pilot (who happened
> to be the chief training officer) was really intent on getting home after the airport had been shut down due to weather...

"Get-there-itis" it's called.  It's an often fatal ailment unfortunately.

> He ended up getting onto the runway without proper clearance (ignoring the copilots complaints about the flagrant rule violation)
> and hitting a plane that was landing.
> They discussed the change in the hierarchy policies that came after that so that the removed the "chain of command" attitude
> between the two pilots and made the copilot into additional eyes and brain power for the pilot instead of just a back up flunky.

The problem can still crop up, especially if the FO is young and the pilot is authoritative (a character trait that is sometimes
consider a good thing in pilots).