The Civil Aviation
Safety Authority of Australia is conducting a national program of
seminars to inform pilots of light aircraft of the dangers of fuel
system icing. The series of 10 special seminars on icing in
carburetors and fuel induction systems begins in Launceston on
March 22. The seminars are being held in the wake of a report into
a fatal light aircraft crash at Trefoil Island in Tasmania where
fuel system icing may have been a significant factor.
This led to a recommendation from the Australian Transport
Safety Bureau for additional advisory information to be provided to
pilots on engine fuel induction system icing. In the 10 years
before the Trefoil Island accident there were eight accidents in
Australia related to fuel system icing, with two fatalities. When
ice forms in the carburetor or fuel induction system of an aircraft
it obstructs the smooth flow of the fuel/air mixture, causing a
reduction in engine power which then results in a loss of airspeed
and altitude. The onset of fuel system icing is often insidious and
can occur in temperatures as high as 37 degrees when humidity is 50
per cent or higher.
Al Bridges, of CASA's Safety Promotion branch, says the
possibility of fuel system icing exists for most flights. "It can
happen in the tropics as well as in the cooler parts of the country
because the key is the amount of moisture in the air," Mr. Bridges
says. "CASA has re-produced an ATSB icing probability chart that
will be made available to light aircraft pilots to help them
predict when icing is more likely. If pilots calculate icing is
possible then they can be ready to look out for the signs of its
onset, such as engine power loss, and take action to apply heat to
the carburetor or induction system. The seminars will also look at
the risks of airframe icing, because in the skies ice can be a
killer."
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