Snow and Ice and Planes

At this time of the year I get flooded with enquiries about how the ‘bad’ weather affects planes. It’s a big subject which I shall be covering in detail on the subscription site soon. Like everything in aviation there has been a lot of effort put into keeping your flight safe at all times. It’s probably sufficient to say that no aircraft would fly if it had the same sort of attention that the average car gets before the average motorist sets off in the same weather. It’s not like that in flying. Take my word for it . By comparison the way society ‘allows’ people to drive in hazardous conditions is nothing short of reckless compared with aviation. After accidents we get statements from the police saying the stuff we hear every year. Slow down, prepare your car, carry blankets, don’t travel if your journey isn’t necessary and every year someone thinks it doesn’t apply to them. It’s not like that in flying. Take my word for it . There is NO legal requirement to behave in any particular way as long as you are not a careless or negligent driver. Sometimes I gasp in amazement at the tiny area of windscreen that some people clear before launching off  onto the roads. Few people adjust their tyre pressures on slippery road surfaces. Everyone drives too fast. No one even looks at any driving tips before going on to hazardous roads. No car driver has winter training. No car driver is tested in their knowledge of car performance, braking  coefficients, stopping distances. Everyone thinks it’s their right to just get in their car and drive without even thinking. We drive without any thought for the extra dangers involved. No training required …and so every year between us we kill hundreds of  innocent people. It’s not like that in flying. Take my word for it .  Or hear about it on our CD Set Captain Keith