Patent 7441725 was granted and assigned to Goodrich Corporation on October, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An aircraft wing (12) comprising a structural casing (14) defining a leading edge, a fuel cell (16) within the structural casing (14), a deicer (18) having electrical lines which receive a supply of electrical power from an onboard power source, and a trip line (20). The trip line (20) is positioned to receive early contact upon impact of the wing by a bird or other foreign object and disruption of the trip line triggers termination of the supply of electrical power to the deicer (18).