In-Flight Icing Training: Ground Only for Most

Training to handle in-flight icing is one of aviations worst Catch-22s: Most pilots fly airplanes that arent certified for flight into known icing-therefore its illegal to take dual to get experience in ice in those airplanes-so the first time a pilot gets into icing conditions, he or she is all alone in of the most complex situations in aviation. The FAAs just say no to flight into icing approach is not rational given that, according to an AOPA study of NTSB data, icing accounts for 10 percent of all weather-related accidents and 22 percent of fatal weather-related accidents. With those kind of odds, it would seem that a pilot who flies IFR where there's a risk of airframe icing would do his or her utmost to get hands-on experience in dealing with ice in the type of airplane she or he normally flies.