A320
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR
General Release Refused / Aircraft Not Accepted
Human Factors; Weather
The airplane was on an overnight in the New York area in which a winter storm was moving into the area.  The forecast called for freezing rain and falling temperatures in the early morning. The forecast was accurate.  When the captain and I were walking to the gate; I noticed from the walkway; between terminals; the airplane had type IV de-ice fluid on the wings.  I mentioned this to the captain but I don't think he heard me. When we reach the gate; the captain said he would do the outside preflight and I thanked him.  I checked the top of the wings; from the emergency row exit; and was unable to see the right wing due to the ice that covered the windows on the right side of the airplane.  I then checked the left wing and noticed type IV de-ice was sprayed on the wing.  The captain came in; from the outside preflight; and I told him what I was able to see and not see.  He told me to contact operations about the de-icing that was done and wanted to know what time it was done; we needed deiced; and will it be done at the gate or somewhere else.  I contacted operations and they said de-icing will be done behind the gate in the alley and to contact the deicer about when the fluid was sprayed onto the airplane.  I contacted the deicer and he mentioned it was done early in the morning to help with removal of contaminants.We boarded the airplane; closed the doors; and called for pushback.  Ramp mentioned that it will be some time because a B767 was behind us and getting deiced.  Ramp finally cleared us to pushback and mentioned that we will de-ice in the alley. As we came to the end of our pushback; we noticed the de-ice trucks approaching us.  Then ramp asked if the ground crew can tow us to the top of the alley near TA taxiway.  The conditions were not conducive for a tow.  We asked ramp what they want us to do because there was a great amount of confusion going on the frequency.  One minute we would get de-iced in the alley; then to TA taxiway; then in the alley.  Also; there was additional confusion due to the monitoring of two frequencies; ramp and the deicer.  Ramp finally said to go to TA taxiway and we notified the deicer to meet us at TA.  We disconnected and started both engines to taxi to the de-ice spot.We configured the airplane and notified deicer we were ready for de-ice and anti-ice.  There was a great deal of ice on the airplane especially on the right side.  The process took about 17 minutes.  I was unable to get the employee number who said we were free and clear.  I was able to copy 336***. As we started the engines; a flight attendant contacted the flight deck and the captain answered.  I did not hear the conversation but I did hear the captain mention; at least two times; are you sure it is ice and not foam from the de-ice/anti-ice fluid.  The captain mentioned to me; the flight attendant said she could not see out of ANY of the windows on the right side of the airplane. The captain called the deicer and told him that there is ice on the right side of the airplane and it needs to be checked.  The deicer came back over to the airplane and said they are going to de-ice the airplane again; especially the right side.  We shut down both engines and waited for the de-ice.  The flight attendant was keeping the captain up to date about the progress that was being made on the ice removal on the right side of the airplane.  The captain made the comment to the deicer about bringing in the varsity team because of how bad the job was done the first time.  The deicer made the comment he was putting his better team on the job.  After about 18 minutes; the job was complete and the deicer said we were free and clear.  The captain was in contact with the flight attendant and she said she was able to see out of all windows on the right side of the airplane.We started the engines and proceeded without further incident until climbout when I have never experienced this in my airline career. Starting around 4000 feet (MSL) the captain and I looked at each other in bewilderment. It sounded like we were flying through heavy rain but we were between cloud layers.  I looked at the top of the nose of the airplane and noticed chunks of ice; measuring about 3 inches by 4 inches; flying past.  They were coming up from the bottom of the nose cone and following the slipstream.  The shedding of ice stopped around 8000 feet (MSL).  If it was dark outside; I am not so sure that the flight attendant would have been able to see the ice.What an excellent lesson in CRM.
A320 First Officer experiences a poor deice job after the aircraft had spent the night in freezing rain. A Flight Attendant was responsible for informing the Captain that ice was still adhering to the aircraft after the first deicing. The deice crew is called back for a second deicing before departure. Climbing through 4;000 feet the aircraft begin shedding ice from the nose radome and continued through 8;000 feet.