Clearing Ice from Military Planes Part of the Mission
Crack teams keep huge tankers, cargo planes ready to fly in winter
By Evan Dougherty
Published January 4, 2021
Read Time: 3 mins
On a sunny November afternoon, crews from Integrated Deicing Services watched as a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III parked on the Sierra deicing pad at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Once the jet came to a full stop, two deicing trucks pulled up on each side of the aircraft and began their delicate maneuvers around the gigantic transport plane, including the forward fuselage, wings and tail.
IDS performs all deicing operations for the 911th Airlift Wing, the Air Force Reserve station at PIT that operates seven C-17s. Each year, IDS operators drill before winter, allowing deicers to become accustomed to working around the 141-ton aircraft.
Winter operations can be volatile, said Master Sgt. James Williams, an a