Weather Flight Planning and the Pilot

Weather Flight Planning and the Pilot

As winter approaches, now’s a good time to write about Aviation Weather. So, when ice is encountered, all Pilots know how to do immediately to get out of it, of course you are a well-trained safety pilot , but you need to know no matter what is the condition , is freezing rain, freezing drizzle , it rarely requires that any pilot must  be and call for a positive action. Any accident prevention project it is very important to a good weather flight planning and the pilot must be understand the structure of a good weather briefing , especially in this type of the year as a winter approaches in the U.S .

A good weather briefing starts with developing an awareness of the big picture, so before attempting to get a detailed briefing. Before your flight you can usually do this by watching the news use your all resources as the weather channel, the weather report by using the FAA telephone information briefing service and also be in contact with your airline etc.

To refresh your memory, you remember the Flight Service Station (FSS) weather briefing there are three basic types of weather available from FSS, Standard, Abbreviated, and Outlook. Keep in mind the information presented will depend upon the specific briefing you request.

When contacting an FSS , tell the briefer which type of briefing you need, and give the following background that any Student Pilot , Private Pilot , Commercial Pilot identifies concerning what I’m feedback  today about weather .

Well there are a lot of others types of FSS briefings.  So, I want to remember some fatal accidents in the past some very important like the Air Florida Flight 90 on January 13, 1982 , flight departed from Washington International Airport and  crashed into the Bridge over the Potomac River.

The Boeing 737 was deiced with a mixture of heated water and monopropylene glycol before taxing, and later after takeoff crashed due Icing and Pilot Error.

Later few years after, the Colgan Air Flight 3407 on February 12, 2009 en route from Newark Liberty International Airport to Buffalo Niagara International Airport crashed in to the final phase approaching to the destination airport, the de-icing system was turned on 11 minutes into the flight by the crew, who discussed significant ice buildup on the aircraft's wings and windscreen shortly before the crash.

I don’t want to go more deep into further details regarding these accidents; my only purpose is to understand these accidents and share with all of you guys who read my safety blog during this important time of the year that winter coming soon, and why Ice is bad.

Pilots, remember always Ice in flight is bad news, it destroys the smooth flow of air, increasing drag while decreasing the ability of the airfoil to create lift. So, your airplane may stall at much higher speeds and lower angles of attack than normal. You need to know well the concept that it can roll or pitch uncontrollably, and recovery may be impossible.

Anyway, be vigilant all the time, do a proper Preflight, during Taxing, during Departure, En Route and Approach and Landing. Be carefully most Icing accidents occurring in the approach and landing phase of flight.

Pilots never take risks, use all your technological resources to check your weather report before flying , we identify and learned from all the records that fatal accidents in the past , weather has been a casual factor of Aviation Accidents .

Looking further into the past, I’m sure that this article can help you more as a Pilot during flying on winter time.

Always remember knowledge your aircraft, knowledge of existing and forecast weather, proper prefights and planning a good flight are the key factors in the discipline to be a good Safety Pilot.

Even the most Experienced Pilot should not fly when presented with conditions that exceed his/ her ability, you as a Pilot must take logical decisions in turn lead to the Go/No-Go decision.

Each Pilot knows what I’m sharing today in this issue, even so the most experienced pilots make mistakes, remember we are humans and somebody can make mistakes.

A comprehensive Knowledge of how aircraft forms and how to manage with the hazards it presents is a must for the Competent Pilot. Always Fly Safely.

If you’re not Safety Conscious, you could end up unconscious. SO THINK ABOUT IT!