Safety Hot Spot

Safety Hot Spot: Winter Weather

Ask any pilot which season yields the best chances for a glassy smooth flight, and they'll likely respond, "Winter!" Ask the same pilot which season yields the least flyable weather, and the response will probably be the same—if less enthusiastic. Cold temperatures, low clouds, snow, and ice present unique difficulties and dangers, but don't be discouraged: Winter flying can be tremendously rewarding if you're well prepared. To get started, check out this Safety Hot Spot!

Get Started

Here's a review of what you need to know—and bring—before you go.

Winter Weather Safety Checkup
Kneeboard format (PDF file — 439KB) | HTML format

Great Learning Tools

Articles and other online resources from the AOPA Air Safety Foundation, AOPA, and NASA to increase your knowledge about winter weather.

Publications

Cold Facts: Wing Contamination Safety Brief
(PDF file — 272KB)
Cold Facts: Braking Action Reports Safety Brief (PDF file — 280KB)
Aircraft Icing Safety Advisor
(PDF file — 445KB)
Aircraft Deicing and Anti-Icing Equipment Safety Advisor (PDF file — 356KB)
AOPA Pilot and AOPA Flight Training articles
Pilot Weather Stories: Icing

Other Resources

Online Courses
- SkySpotter
Videos
Icing for General Aviation Pilots, courtesy of the Icing Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center.
- Wing Contamination (00:34)
  broadband | dial-up
- Preflight Briefing (01:21)
  broadband | dial-up
- In-Flight Icing Re-creation (02:05)
  broadband | dial-up

General Aviation Accident Data from the ASF Accident Database
- All icing accidents, including induction, structural, and ground accumulation
Accident Reports featured in AOPA ePilot
- Ice is never nice
- De-ice your wings

Take a Checkride

Think you're ready? Take a quiz and test your witner weather knowledge.

Sporty's Safety Quiz

The Icing Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center

The Icing Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center

A Pilot's Guide to Ground Icing
A course primarily intended for pilots who make their own operational de-icing and anti-icing decisions. This includes private pilots as well as those who fly business, corporate, air taxi, or freight operations in fixed-wing aircraft.
A Pilot's Guide to In-Flight Icing
A course primarily intended for the general aviation pilot who flies aircraft certified for flight in icing, although much of the information is applicable to all pilots. With an operational focus, this course provides tools pilots can use to deal with in-flight icing.