Report on FAA Deicing Program at La Guardia and O'Hare Airports

https://doi.org/10.21949/14038451996PDFTech ReportReport Number: E5-FA-7-002DeicingInspectionAirportsOperationsComplianceRegulationsFAA Deicing Program RegulationsUnited States. Dept. of Transportation. Office of Inspector GeneralNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Laws and RegulationsNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Safety/AirworthinessUS Transportation CollectionThe Office of Inspector General, Department of Transportation; conducted afollowup inspection of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) DeicingProgram. We initiated this study to observe deicing operations as a followup toour report on the FAA Deicing Program, (No. E5-FA-7-001, dated October 2, 1996).The objective of this inspection was to determine if deicing operations atselected airports were in compliance with FAA regulations.At the two airports -- La Guardia Airport, New York, New York, and O'HareInternational Airport, Chicago, Illinois, where we observed deciing operations,we found deicing operations are in compliance with FAA Deicing Programregulations. For example, air carriers canceled, or delayed, flights becauseof adverse weather; aircraft appeared to be free of snow and ice at takeoff; aircarriers at O'Hare were using new, longer lasting anti-icing fluids thatincrease holdover times (i.e., the elapsed time before an aircraft must repeatdeicing fluid application); and FAA, airport operators, and air carriers wereworking together to avoid expired holdover times for aircraft.84