Originally Posted by
Immortan Joe
I nominate the lone airline crew deicing both wings AND tail on the ramp in Vegas the other morning. With not a cloud in the sky and an OAT of 48F. ����
Ever heard of cold fuel frost? If they had a long trip and had super cooled fuel in the tank it could form frost on the upper surface of the wing. Then, if their gate was in the shade the frost may not have had time to melt thus resulting in the need to deice.
Once you make that decision, the entire aircraft needs to be deiced. You could argue that the tail didn't need deicing, but that Captain was most likely exercising his authority to make the most conservative decision. I had a buddy that this happened to in Denver on a blue sky day with the temperature in the 40s as well.
The MD-80 had this problem until they put the upper wing heater blankets on the airplanes.