• The accumulation of ice on an aircraft can present hazards.airplane image by Melissa Schalke from Fotolia.com
  
  The buildup of ice on small airplanes can create serious hazards for pilots and passengers. Due to the effects that ice accumulation can have on an aircraft's aerodynamic performance, pilots of small airplanes should be extremely wary of flying in icy conditions. Failure to do so can increase the probability of an in-flight emergency, malfunction or crash.
  
  

Collision Risk

• Ice buildup on the windshield of an aircraft can obscure the pilot's visibility. This can create a wide variety of fairly obvious problems, one of the most important being the risk of a collision with an inanimate object or another aircraft. While flying a small aircraft, pilots must constantly be on the lookout for radio towers, mountains, buildings or other aircraft. With visibility obscured by ice, this can become difficult. Without the ability to visually identify collision risks, a pilot could be on a collision course and not be aware of it.
  
  Ice can also effect instruments like the altimeter, which is driven by the pitot tube -- a small, narrow tube attached to the outside of the aircraft that helps to measure airspeed and altitude. Should this tube become clogged, it will effect the readout of these instruments and result in bad readings and further exacerbate the risk of collision.
  
  

Instability

• Weight distribution is essential to a small aircraft's stability. Pilots must carefully load passengers, baggage, fuel, oil and other objects in different areas in order to ensure that the airplane's center of gravity is within the limits provided by the manufacturer. Failure to do so will render the plane difficult to control.
  
  This becomes a problem when ice builds up unevenly and adds weight to the airframe. This extra weight could possibly throw off the aircraft's center of gravity and leave the plane difficult to control in flight.
  
  

Loss of Lift

• Ice accumulation on the wings can be especially hazardous due to two factors: weight and airflow disruption. The extra weight of the ice can make the airplane heavier. This means that the plane must travel at a higher speed in order to generate enough airflow over the wings. This airflow could become disrupted if the ice is uneven and spoils the aerodynamic shape of the wings.
  
  These two factors result in an increase in the speed at which an airplane loses lift, or stalls. This can be especially dangerous during landing. Instead of settling to the ground over the runway, the plane could suffer a severe drop well before the planned touchdown point.
  
  

Engine Failure

• Ice buildup can occur inside of the engine, primarily in the carburetor. The carburetor is responsible for metering out the amount of fuel and air in the mixture that goes to the combustion engine to generate power. If ice clogs the carburetor and hinders airflow into the fuel mixture, the engine will lose efficiency and may eventually quit.