For a few years now FAA Federal Aviation Regulations have required all air carrier operators to operate with an approved airborne weather radar. The new airborne Doppler weather radars detect wind shear. The requirement for having this radar has greatly reduced the potential for accidents caused by microbursts. (Operations within the states of Hawaii and Alaska are exempt from these requirements.) These radars, however, are not capable of detecting turbulence in clear air at high altitudes. Always check our web site: Aviation Weather Law http://www.aviationweatherlaw.com/
Please go to this site to review one of our sample forensic reports on an aviation accident . These are the type of reports that we prepare prior to a case going to court. http://www.aviationweatherlaw.com/sample_report.pdf
The location of the jet stream varies greatly during the year. However during the winter in the northern hemisphere the polar jet is generally located near 40 to 50 degrees latitudes north and found at elevations at 30,000 to 40,000 feet. Wind speeds vary but can be into 150 to 200 mph range and the winds generally blow from west to east. If the airplane is flying with this strong tailwind (winds blow from west to east plane travels from west to east) this can reduce fuel usage and the travel time. In fact one international flight was able to reduce flight time by one third. However for flights across the US would be reduced on the order of 30 minutes to 60 minutes if flying with this tailwind.
Finally, clear air turbulence which is caused by windshear is sometimes associated with the jet stream or just underneath the jet. Future articles will discuss this in great detail. Please contact on this blog or visit our web site at http://www.aviationweatherlaw.com/
Wind shear is a rapid change in either wind speed or wind direction over a short period of time or distance. Wind shear can describe the changes either horizontally (along the Earth’s surface) or vertically. How much wind shear change can impact a plane? For a smaller plane a change of 25 to 30 knots might be enough to cause issues. This can certainly contribute to a potential airplane accidents. If you have questions on other forensic aviation issues or just need information you can find some answers here http://www.aviationweatherlaw.com/ or you can contact Aviation Weather Law
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) we found these interesting facts below. Over the next several months we will provide some case studies of weather conditions that occurred during these situations:
In nonfatal accidents, in-flight turbulence is the leading cause of injuries to airline passengers and flight attendants.
Each year, approximately 58 people in the United States are injured by turbulence while not wearing their seat belts.
From 1980 through 2008, U.S. air carriers had 234 turbulence accidents, resulting in 298 serious injuries and three fatalities.
Of the 298 serious injuries, 184 involved flight attendants and 114 involved passengers.
At least two of the three fatalities involved passengers who were not wearing their seat belts while the seat belt sign was illuminated.
Generally, two-thirds of turbulence-related accidents occur at or above 30,000 feet.
This is a great link for current aviation weather conditions in the US. It is a site from the National Weather Service http://aviationweather.gov/ There is also data here covering: Convection, turbulence, icing, to name a few.