WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal officials are proposing that manufacturers be required to show new airliners can fly safely in certain icy weather conditions that have proven deadly.
The Federal Aviation Administration officials said Tuesday they want to expand the certification standards for small airliners to include freezing that falls as liquid but freezes instantly when it hits the surface of a plane. The rain can form ice ridges that change the shape of a plane's wing, making the aircraft difficult to handle.
Complying with the new rule will cost aircraft and engine manufacturers an estimated $71 million.
Safety officials have urged the change in certification standards since a regional airline crash near Roselawn, Ind., in 1994 that took 68 lives.