As part of its effort to enhance the safety of the Cessna 208 Caravan in the wake of fatal accidents and an FAA Airworthiness Directive, the Regional Air Cargo Carrier Association (RACCA) expects to issue a series of training standards dealing with icing conditions, perhaps as early as this week. At present, the group's technical subcommittee is working to determine the final content of Cessna's next pilot operating handbook/aircraft flight manual (POH/AFM) revision for the aircraft. Cessna engineering and RACCA members are developing a variety of information tools designed to aid operators and pilots in making the appropriate decisions on varying icing conditions.

The training committee is currently evaluating several commercial organizations to determine their capability for implementing the on-line training portion of the recommendations. This training may be required under the revised POH/AFM and will be used to ensure pilots understand the hazards of operation in icing conditions and how to avoid them.

Cessna is planning to continue its "Winter Operations Road Show" and may make the on-line training sessions mandatory in future revisions of the POH/AFM, thus avoiding lengthy and expensive FAA rulemaking and the possibility of grounding the aircraft in wintry conditions. (RAN, February 27, p.1) RACCA, Cessna and FAA also created a training coalition in May. (RAN, May 20, p.6)

The FAA in January issued an AD ordering operators to install a handhold on the plane so the pilots can inspect the wings just before takeoff. RACCA opposed the recommendation, saying the handle would not be effective.

RACCA members fly 350 single-engine, high-wing Caravans every night delivering packages for FedEx, UPS and DHL, 70 percent of which are flown on routes subject to winter icing conditions. A grounding order would cause chaos and confusion in the industry as carriers scramble to find planes to replace the Caravan.

In January, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) drew up a set of recommendations that included the suggestion that the Cessna 208 be grounded in moderate or worse icing conditions. (RAN, January 23, p.1) The recommendations were triggered by fatal crashes in Canada and Russia. However, the icing problems with the Cessna 208 are not new. Over the last 15 years, the NTSB said at least nine accidents have involved icing. RACCA is concerned that if an untrained pilot causes a crash in the future, regulators might ground the plane completely. With the completion of any mandated training, the focus of the blame could shift from the pilot to the aircraft.