After a long effort, Cessna, the FAA and the Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA) unveiled its long-awaited, cold-weather training program for the Cessna Caravan. The program resulted from operating restrictions imposed by the FAA last spring, after which the three organizations formed the Caravan Icing Workgroup and agreed to develop recommendations designed to enhance the Caravan's cold-weather safety.

"After several months of hard work involving Cessna, the FAA and many association members, RACCA is very pleased to see an online training program in place for the coming winter flying season," said RACCA President Stan Bernstein. "The added training and other improvements will no doubt enhance pilot awareness and safety in icing conditions. In the near future, specific training requirements will be incorporated into the Cessna Caravan airplane flight manual, which will further enhance safe flight in winter icing conditions."

In addition to the new training program, Cessna also developed a revised Pilot Operating Handbook supplement containing new and revised flight planning charts along with the latest technical recommendations. The new materials were developed as a result of the tri-partite workgroup and are based on detailed technical assistance from Cessna and FAA.

Cessna is also developing a Low-Speed Warning System for installation on its Caravan fleet, also part o the workgroup's recommendations. The system should be available for purchase and installation in the near future. It began its new Caravan Safety Awareness Seminars on October 2. Now in its third week, the seminars are completemented by the Caravan Cold-Weather Operations, available on the internet at http://www.cessnaelearning.com at a cost of $20. Following successful submission of an online exam for each of the five presentation modules, participants will be issued a Certificate of Completion from Cessna. Additionally, Caravan pilots who attend one of the Caravan Safety Awareness Seminars may access the online course at no charge. The Low-Speed Warning System and completion of the Winter Safety Seminar are expected to be new FAA requirements for the Caravan in a future Airworthiness Directive.

In January, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendated 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.

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