9.2

 Weather Hazards

3 November 2021

    The greatest threat to aviation operations is weather hazards. According to the FAA, weather is the cause of about 70% of the delays in the National Airspace System (Transportation, n.d). There are many different types of weather threats to flight operations including wind shear, icing, thunderstorm, turbulence, fog, and microbursts. Although it is a very common conception that thunderstorms can cause damage to flight, many don't understand the physical effects it can cause to the aircraft once it reaches altitudes. 

    Understanding thunderstorms and the hazards that come with it is detrimental to fight safety. A thunderstorm forms when warm, water dense air rises into cold air, cooling it down which causes water vapors to form (UCAR, 2019). This cooled air then drops into the lower and warmer atmosphere and rises again due to the heat, causing a Convection Cell (UCAR, 2019). Recognizing when thunderstorms are going to form is crucial when planning a flight, and is considered hazardous since penetration of thunderstorms can lead to a bigger change of accidents and fatalities to occur to aircrafts flying through one (FAA, n.d). 

    There are 4 main types of thunder storms, single cell, multi cell, squall line, and supercell (FAA, n.d). Single cell thunderstorms often last only about an hour, and is formed during the summer (UCAR, 2019). These storms can form huge cumulonimbus clouds that grow up to 12 kilometers high in the atmostphere and can cause hazardous turbulence, and can destroy aircrafts if not avoided (FAA, n.d). Another problem that come with thunderstorms is that since the pressure falls rapidly when approaching one and then rises sharply with the gust of wind, the cycle of this pressure change can give false altimeter settings for the pilots, causing a fatal misreading of altitude.

References

UCAR. (2019). Thunderstorms. https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/storms/thunderstorms

FAA. (2013). Advisory Circular. https://www.faa.gov/documentlibrary/media/advisory_circular/ac%2000-24c.pdf

Transportation. (2015). Weather and Aviation: How Does Weather Affect the Safety and Operations of Airports and Aviation, and How Does FAA Work to Manage Weather-related Effects? Weather and Aviation: How Does Weather Affect the Safety and Operations of Airports and Aviation, and How Does FAA Work to Manage Weather-related Effects?