Pilot Guide: Flight in Icing Conditions
Pilot guide to flight in icing conditions — how airframe icing forms, its effects, and how to avoid and escape it.
About this document
AC 91-74, Pilot Guide: Flight in Icing Conditions, is the FAA's practical reference on structural (airframe) icing for pilots. It explains how ice accretes on an aircraft, how it degrades lift and control, the meteorology of icing, and strategies for avoiding, detecting, and escaping icing conditions.
It supports the weather-hazard knowledge tested at the instrument and higher levels and complements the icing coverage in the Aviation Weather Handbook.
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Take a free practice test →AC-91-74 is an official FAA publication in the public domain. We host a copy so you can read it in-browser; always confirm you are reading the current edition on faa.gov. The description above is an original summary and is a study aid, not a substitute for the document or the regulations.