Aviation Weather Law Blog

Certified Consulting Meteorologist

Michael Fagin — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 17:29:23 +0000

When researching to try to find a potential Meteorologist for one of your legal proceedings you should make sure you are using a CCM, Certified Consulting Meteorologist

Michael Fagin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:11:45 +0000

This is always a great web site for up to date severe weather conditions in the United States, Storm Prediction Center (NOAA) http://www.spc.noaa.gov/

Satellite Data

Michael Fagin — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 22:35:26 +0000

Most of us are well aware of the GOES satellite data that are available in investigating aviation incidents and GOES data can be very helpful. Recently, however, NASA has made available data from two low-orbiting satellites that can greatly enhance a weather analysis. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has an onboard radar and can provide precipitation rates and lightning detection. The CloudSat satellite can provide information on the ice crystal content and liquid water content of clouds as well as some information on precipitation rates– information that can prove useful in determining when icing, turbulence or thunderstorms are present. Since both these satellites are in low-Earth orbits (CloudSat at 438 miles and TRMM at 250 miles), data are not always available, as they are dependent on the timing of an orbital pass. However, a satellite pass near the time of an incident can often provide valuable data to enhance an investigation.

Archived Weather Data

Michael Fagin — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:15:09 +0000

There are times that we just need to take a quick look at some historic weather data in an aircraft crash incident and it is good to take a look at some web sites. One of the better sites to get weather maps is this free site http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/dailywxmap/ which contains maps for the US and Cananda. Another site is this http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html which is the NCDC, National Climatic Data Center. Which has some free data and others on a fee basis. However I must warn you that this site is not very user friendly.

Icing

Michael Fagin — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 18:42:06 +0000

Historically, aviators have been concerned with icing that occurs when super-cooled liquid water freezes upon contact with an airframe at temperatures below 0C. Generally at very cold temperatures, the amount of super-cooled water present in a cloud decreases. At temperatures below -40C, it is generally accepted that super-cooled water does not exist in clouds, and that at temperatures below -20C, the threat of icing is minimal as at that temperature, although some super-cooled water may exist, there would be inadequate amounts to present a serious icing threat. However, in recent years,engine power -loss incidents related to aircraft flying through areas of ice crystals at very cold temperatures, indicate that these ice crystals may present a problem affecting the performance of jet engines. This issue has been covered in Aero, a Boeing publication.

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/qtr_01_10/5/

New Airborne Radar

Michael Fagin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:29:14 +0000

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/

Sample forensic report

Michael Fagin — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:25:35 +0000

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

Jet Stream

Michael Fagin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:28:03 +0000

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

Michael Fagin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:53:07 +0000

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

Turbulence

Michael Fagin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:02:22 +0000

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.