In-Flight Icing

In-flight icing has been a factor in several fatal aircraft accidents and causes significant disruption to domestic flight operations. The goal of the In-Flight Icing PDT is to produce accurate hourly forecasts of icing conditions on high resolution grids. Technology developed by this PDT enabled the Aviation Weather Center (AWC) in Kansas City to issue the first ever forecast of freezing drizzle aloft.

Currently their Integrated Icing Diagnosis Algorithm (IIDA) is under testing and evaluation by AWC forecasters in producing icing SIGMETs, AIRMETs, and area forecasts. It is expected to be released by the FAA for full operational use in the NAS in FY01. IIDA is available on ADDS webpage http://adds.awc-kc.noaa.gov/.

Efforts are also currently directed toward the development of an Integrated Icing Forecast Algorithm (IIFA), which will combine up to 56 interest fields into one integrated product.

Benefits to the aviation community:

• More accurate and timely information for flight planning and icing avoidance
• Detailed routing by flight dispatchers, through the use of higher-resolution IIDA output
• Remote sensor research to lead to ground-based terminal area or airborne ice detection systems

Below are the links to sub articles on Aviation Digital Data Service:

Ceiling and Visibility
Turbulence
Convective Weather
Winter Weather Research
In-Flight Icing
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