With the on-going discussion of the tragic Colgan Air crash outside of Buffalo and the sub-topics of airframe icing being brought up, I thought it interesting to repost two icing encounters captured on LiveATC audio from a few years back. Long-timers here will remember these two clips but many of the newer members may have not heard them.
Coincidentally, both of these icing incidents also took place in the Buffalo, NY, airspace. Fortunately both had positive outcomes but not before some really tense moments for the pilots, controllers, and the other pilots on frequency.
- A Learjet returning from Toronto experiences what seems to be a tailplane stall that sends the aircraft in an uncontrolled climb. March, 2006.
- A Cessna Caravan (single-engine propeller turboprop) is laden with ice and suddenly enters an uncontrolled descent. April, 2006.