A visual pre-takeoff contamination check must be performed within 5 minutes if holdover time has been exceeded or during which condition?

A visual pre-takeoff contamination check must be performed within 5 minutes if holdover time has been exceeded or during which condition?

• A. Heavy snow conditions
• B. Fog
• C. High wind
• D. Low visibility

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how quickly contamination can redeposit on the aircraft after de-icing. A visual pre-takeoff contamination check is used to confirm that the wings, tail, and other critical surfaces are free of ice, snow, or frost right before takeoff. Holding over time is the period during which the applied de-icing/anti-icing fluid is expected to remain effective. If that time has been exceeded, you can no longer trust the surface to stay clean on its own, so you must verify visually. Heavy snow creates rapid reaccumulation of new contamination, so in that environment a visual check must be performed within 5 minutes to ensure the surface is still clean and safe for takeoff. Other conditions like fog or high wind don’t by themselves mandate this 5-minute check in the same way, so they aren’t the triggering condition described here.

The main idea here is how quickly contamination can redeposit on the aircraft after de-icing. A visual pre-takeoff contamination check is used to confirm that the wings, tail, and other critical surfaces are free of ice, snow, or frost right before takeoff.

Holding over time is the period during which the applied de-icing/anti-icing fluid is expected to remain effective. If that time has been exceeded, you can no longer trust the surface to stay clean on its own, so you must verify visually. Heavy snow creates rapid reaccumulation of new contamination, so in that environment a visual check must be performed within 5 minutes to ensure the surface is still clean and safe for takeoff.

Other conditions like fog or high wind don’t by themselves mandate this 5-minute check in the same way, so they aren’t the triggering condition described here.