Author: William Boos

A touch of turbulence is expected, regardless of the flight path. But when the weather turns overly sour, exhibiting fear-inducing happenings like thunder, heavy rain, lightning, snow, extreme heat, fierce winds, or severe fog, it can affect the journey’s smoothness. Luckily, aviation professionals like William Boos are trained to fly in extreme weather, ensuring they keep themselves, their crew, the aircraft, and their passengers safe.

Despite being scary for those onboard, pilots are more than capable of traversing these less-than-desirable conditions, maintaining control, and upholding the highest of aviation safety standards. To do that, they employ a range of techniques.

Everybody Monitors the Weather Before (and During) Every Flight

Pilots flying ahead of a storm need to know the weather before and after takeoff, the severity of turbulence to expect, and how/when to turn from storms. They’re trained to handle inclement weather, even with no visibility, but that doesn’t mean they’re flying solo.

Using National Weather Service (NWS) data, the FAA Flight Service Station (FSS) informs pilots, airlines, and airports about the intricacies of the conditions.

According to a Delta representative, major airlines also monitor weather events (e.g., hurricanes and harsh storms) before flights are due to depart by employing forecasters — experts trained to run weather models to predict which flights could be impacted by certain conditions.

Preparing the Plane

Pilots prepare their crew and plane days before flights that are set to arrive at the height of storms.

One of the major decisions is determining who’ll take it out. Typically, captains do the takeoff and landing in one direction, while the first officer does it in the other direction. But airlines employ co-pilot crosswind limits — anything around ⅔ of the aircraft’s limit and the captain must do it.

Beyond that, pilots need to decide how much to fill the fuel tanks. Flight plans detail the minimum amount of fuel required for the journey. On fine-weather days, this minimum suffices, but harsh weather necessitates pilots look at said figure more closely.

The Takeoff and Landing Brief

Before each takeoff or landing, pilots discuss the major threats that could affect the flight’s safety — weather is one of the top contenders. They’ll consider how much time they have and which methods they should employ to safeguard their passengers.

The Go-Round Method

Pilots may decide it’s safer to climb back into the air instead of continuing the landing. This is called a go-round, and it’s a far more likely circumstance on windy days.

During go-rounds, both pilots play critical roles. Practice makes perfect in this regard, so included in the brief is a plethora of trials to ensure everybody knows what they need to do.

Sometimes, It’s Simply Too Adverse to Fly

Blizzards and extreme heat are prime examples of situations that could cause pilots to cancel flights due to safety concerns. While many passengers are irked by this, these professionals have made this call to protect the public. Like everything they do, it’s a decision that must be made to minimize risk to life and limb. Without them, safe flying would be nothing but a pipe dream.

Everyone finds flight delays and cancellations annoying. Most of the time, these delays are because of the weather. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, over 75% of flight delays are caused by bad weather alone.

But whenever this happens, are the disgruntled passengers who have it the worst?

In this article, William Boos of Direct Airway explores the effects of weather in aviation – and on a global scale.

First, let’s find out the types of weather and phenomena the aviation industry avoids.

Hazardous Flying Conditions

Thunderstorms may be the most commonly known weather condition in aviation due to the likelihood of lightning striking. But it can also be because of wind turbulence that can make it difficult for the pilot to control the plane – and the fog that can cause poor visibility.

However, there are other phenomena and conditions that the aviation industry avoids. Such as:

Delaying and canceling flights because of these conditions prevents aviation disasters.

For instance, poor radio signals can cause poor communication between air traffic control and other planes. If this happens, it can lead to runway incursions, as the pilot will have difficulty verifying if the plane will land in clear space.

Poor communications and visibility can also cause midair collisions.

Additionally, turbulence (despite not being relatively concerning) can still cause serious injuries, such as the recent Delta flight bound for Atlanta. The plane experienced severe turbulence, leading to 11 passengers needing medical treatment.

However, flight delays also impact the economy and the environment.

Environmental Impact

When flights are delayed, the interval between each aircraft gets disrupted.

As a result, many are stuck on the ground as they wait for their turn to take off. But until they do, many of these planes are left running with their engines on, making aircraft burn more fuel and release carbon emissions.

Furthermore, flight delays can also affect the economy.

Economic Impact

When flights are delayed or canceled, people miss scheduled opportunities – executives may miss meetings, or vacationers might ask for hotel and accommodation refunds.

Moreover, airports also experience financial loss whenever there are disruptions in their flight schedules. In an Air Transport Research Society research, they estimated that airports – and flight delays – cost the global economy $75.5 billion annually.

Sometimes, when there are flight delays, airports also cover the passengers’ housing, transportation, and food, adding to their expenses.

Conclusion

Favorable weather conditions are vital to the aviation industry. Not only will they reduce aviation’s impact on the environment and economy, but they also ensure the safety of the passengers and the crew.