A newbie doubt, if it's ok...

"Ramapriya" wrote in message
om...

I know cars and trucks tend to skid even at low speeds in sleet and on
ice, with braking often proving ineffectual. This leaves me wondering
why is it that we don't ever hear of aircraft skidding and going
off-track while taxiing or even during takeoff/landing? Is the lack of
such incidents only because of the meticulousness of ice clearance by
airport authorities?

These things do happen, though mostly to small planes and not generally
fatal so they're not big news items.

Why doesn't this happen with airliners? I'll hazard the following guesses:

1. Thrust reversers provide braking power even if the tires have no grip at
all
2. Landings are made in a straight line on a flat runway. It's curves and
hills that cause trouble on icy roads.
3. Weight-to-tire-area ratio: I'm guessing here, but it seems to me that
airliners put a lot of weight on a relatively small amount of tire area
compared to cars. This would improve traction.
4. Operator skill: Trained pilots vs. idiot/unskilled drivers

In my (limited) experience, you're lucky if the runway is cleared of
snow/ice better than the highways, especially during/after a large storm.

-cwk.