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it should have been a short hop in the Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. However, on that cold winter evening the upstate New York area was experiencing freezing rain, which tends to coat airplane wing surfaces with ice. As it builds up, the ice not only adds weight but also alters the aerodynamic shape of the wing, and this naturally affects the way the plane performs in the air. Because ice buildup can produce dangerous fly ing conditions, airplane wings are designed with features that can break up the accumulated ice. One such feature heats the wing surface; another, known as a de-icing boot, is incorporated into the structure's leading edge. When activated, the boot expands and thus cracks and sheds any ice that has formed. Unfortunately, like all designs, this scheme has limitations, and ice that is located too far back from the leading edge may not be removed by the action of the expanding boot. 1 The regional twin-engine turboprop plane never made it to Buffalo that evening; it crashed into a house about five miles short of the runway. All forty-nine people on board were killed, as was a person in the house. Early speculation was that somehow the icing conditions were not adequate

Author

Henry Petroski

Published

2014

Language

EN

Rating

3.44 / 5 (93 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14