Of note, the report made no mention of the possibility of
aircraft icing. The aircraft was almost certainly flyable as designed, and perfectly fine prior to impact.
Aircraft icing would impose serious adverse effects on flight safety, which has long been recognized as an important issue to prevent.
A September 2006 Safety Alert (SA-06) from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSBJ),
Aircraft Icing, warns pilots to "beware of aircraft upper wing surface ice accumulation before takeoff." These principles and behaviors underlie FAR 91.527, which states, "No pilot may take off an airplane that has frost, ice, or snow adhering to any propeller, windshield, stabilizing or control surface; to a powerplant installation; or to an airspeed, altimeter, rate of climb, or flight attitude instrument system or wing, except that takeoffs may be made with frost under the wing in the area of the fuel tanks if authorized by the FAA."
Cumulonimbus clouds in themselves are a threat to aircraft because of severe turbulence, wind shear and
aircraft icing.
DMT produces the cloud probes that are utilized for climate and weather research,
aircraft icing studies, and other atmospheric research.
In the 30s, Halbert recognised that aviation was the way ahead for his products so moved his family and company to London to be closer to the fliers of the day and to work with the industry to develop a product to stop
aircraft icing up in freezing temperatures at heights of 4,000 to 5,000 feet.
He has received a series of awards from Environment Canada, Transport Canada, and NASA in recognition of national and international leadership in advancing knowledge and applications in the field of
aircraft icing. In 2008, he received the Patterson Distinguished Service Medal of the Meteorological Service of Canada.
The main consequences of
aircraft icing are unusual loss of lift, such as a reduction in the rate of rise, an increase of friction, or rapid ice accumulation on windows, wings, or measurement instruments on the aircraft [1].
Aircraft icing is of great concern due to the detrimental effect of accreted ice on aircraft performances.