You are exactly correct -- and the best part is the FAA will hang the pilot that has an accident in icing conditions (well, most of the time). There is often a wide gulf between legal and safe or prudent but a short hop from legal to an accident.
I guess that goes back to the FAA rule about the pilot becoming familiar with ALL available information.
I think the term: reasonable and prudent, pertains to what in general a reasonable and prudent pilot would do based upon the current and forecasted weather, given his his equipment and possible his abilities.
That leaves a wide margin for the definition of what reasonable and prudent is.
Still very confusing and not clear, but then again the weather is hard to put your finger on.
Kevin Kossi
On Apr 19, 2007, at 7:41 AM, Douglas Brunner wrote:
It seems to me that the key phrase in the letter is this:
"If the composite information indicates to a reasonable and prudent pilot that he or she will encounter visible moisture at freezing or near freezing temperatures and that ice will adhere to the aircraft along the proposed route and altitude of flight, then known icing conditions likely exist."
In other words, in addition to there being the potential for icing (moisture and freezing temperatures) the pilot needs to determine that ice will adhere to the aircraft.
How should a reasonable and prudent pilot determine "that ice will adhere to the aircraft"? Pilot reports? Forecasts of icing?
It seems to me that this allows for a lot of retrospective second guessing on the part of the FAA.
D. Brunner
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