Originally Posted by
Packrat
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.
Exactly. It's a common theme these days though, people who think they know everything about every situation and are lightning quick to judge.
The MD80 issue was usually solved by running outside to the fuel panel right when you blocked and getting the cold wing fuel transferred into the center tank before the fueler showed up. A PITA...or you could just deice.
Also, even in this situation, if an airplane needs deicing, one is best served by letting the deicer decide what to spray. Limiting the surfaces that they can deice puts needless liability squarely on you.