PILOTS ARE ROUTINELY ADMONISHED not to fly into known icing conditions, particularly with an airplane that is not equipped to handle icing. That's because if ice forms on an airplane's leading edges, that formation will disrupt the flow of air over an airfoil and-basic Bernoulli-create drag while destroying lift. What can happen next? A stall at a higher airspeed and/or lower angle of attack, possibly uncontrollable roll and pitch. Some general aviation airplanes are equipped with deicing systems to be used in the event ice begins to form on the airplane in flight. These systems do not give pilots a green light to blast off into freezing rain. Rather, they are meant to buy some time to exit the icing conditions.
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