Citing its consistent problems in icing conditions the Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) recommended Transport Canada and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) do more to ensure the safety of Cessna Caravan flights and go beyond current recommendations calling for increased pilot training and requirements to fly out of moderate and severe icing conditions.

"This Cessna [Caravan] should not take off into anything more than light icing -- period," said Wendy Tadros, chair of Canada's TSB. "We think it would be safer if a Cessna 208 pilot never took off during anything but light icing conditions." The recommendation was prompted by the release of the final report on the October 2005 Caravan crash. After encountering icing shortly after takeoff, the pilot attempted to return to the airport, but crashed. The TSB said the main cause was icing despite the fact the aircraft was 288 pounds overweight.

The move comes after protracted work by the Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association in forestalling such action by the FAA by developing, with Cessna, a massive training effort for Caravan pilots. (RAN, October 30, p.1) 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. Last January, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended grounding the aircraft in moderate or worse icing conditions.

Cessna is also developing a Low- Speed Warning System for installation on its Caravan fleet, also part of the workgroup's recommendations.

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 cause chaos in the industry as carriers scrambled to find planes to replace the Caravan.

FAA Reinterprets Icing Conditions, Impacting Operations

A decision by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Eastern Region General Counsel could preclude an operator's ability to fly during the winter, according the Regional Air Cargo Carrier's Association (RACCA). RACCA alerted members that the June 6 letter from Loretta Alkalay, not only redefines known icing conditions but constitutes a change in FAA policy without following rulemaking procedures or industry review.

RACCA President Stan Bernstein called Alkalay's interpretation of existing regulations, which adds "high relative humidity" to the conditions under which airframe icing may form, unilateral and unfounded. He also said she ignores situations in which visible moisture may exist at temperatures too cold for icing.

Alkalay was responding to an operator's request for a definition of known icing conditions. "Known icing conditions exist when visible moisture or high relative humidity combines with temperatures near or below freezing," she wrote. "Flying through clouds at an altitude that is near or below freezing would constitute flight into known icing conditions." She then concluded that flying in such conditions would be a violation of the FARs "whether the aircraft accretes ice or not" when the airplane flight manual or pilot operating handbook prohibits flight into known icing conditions.

In calling for operators to alert RACCA of any other concerns regarding Alkalay's letter, RACCA said it was scheduled to meet with the FAA on a number of matters last week.