March Crash in N.Y. to Prompt Changes in De-Icing Policies
De-icing regulations will be changed by next winter as a result of last month’s deadly crash of a USAir jetliner, a Federal Aviation Administration official said Thursday.
“We are proceeding in the FAA on the assumption that this tragedy was caused by icing and taking every step we can to prevent a recurrence of a similar accident in the future,” Anthony Broderick told a Senate subcommittee hearing in Manhattan.
“You can be certain that those steps will be taken before next winter,” he said.
Flight 405 crashed while taking off during a snowstorm March 22 at La Guardia Airport. Twenty-seven of the 51 people aboard were killed.
Broderick’s report to the committee stated that the FAA plans to “establish limits beyond which pilots will be forbidden to take off without returning” for another de-icing.
He said the new rules could result in longer delays if planes are forced to undergo a second de-icing after waiting a long time to take off.
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