FAA modifies ATR ad; June meeting to decide specifics for phase II

Mobile Phone News, June 5, 1995

The revised administrative directive allows the ATR to be dispatched into forecasted icing conditions. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) will discuss procedures for dispatch into "known icing" - currently the FAA does not allow any aircraft to be dispatched into known icing.

"We need the dispatch rule to be the same for everyone," Alain Brodin, president of ATR marketing said. "The next phase is intended to deal with new certification rules, right now the ATR is the only aircraft that gives visual cues that ice is accumulating," he said. The ATR's side windows afford the pilot a clear view of the aircraft's wing, he added.

The FAA's new rule will retain the following conditions: allow pilots to override the aircraft's computer to permit additional movement of the flaps in an emergency; require flight crew training based on the revised ATR icing manual; require flight crews to disengage autopilot controls immediately if freezing rain or drizzle are encountered and fly immediately out of sighted freezing rain or drizzle.

Now that the ATR-specific phase of icing compliance is complete, the FAA is concentrating on phase II - a comprehensive review of all other aircraft of a similar design, FAA spokesperson Curtis Austin told C/R News. A meeting between industry players and FAA officials is set for June to determine the specifics of how the testing of other aircraft will be approached and which aircraft will be included.

"The money [to fund the testing] is coming out of the [FAA] operating budget," Austin said. "It is a priority, so the money will be available. How much money at this juncture is not known, he added. When asked specifically about research money set aside for the study of the super-cooled drizzle drop phenomena, Austin did not comment.

Phase III will include an international forum on new certification policies, weather forecasting and operational procedures in icing conditions. The group is slated to meet in late 1995 or in early 1996.