The Effects of a Microburst on Aircraft Performance

If a jet aircraft is flying through this wind shear it will be brought down by 230 meters in forty seconds . Given below is an illustration of an aircraft that is attempting to take off during a microburst (Houze , 1994

Figure 2 .3 . Illustration of an airplane taking off during a cloudburst (Zhenxing , 2009

As seen in the aircraft , after it lifts off , it faces a strong headwind at the position 1 . As the aircraft rises , the headwind reduces and the plane enters the zone of downdraft as shown in 2 . There is

more headwind loss at position 3 and at 4 , there is an increasing tailwind . The tail wind forces the aircraft down and after 5 , the aircraft would crash since the fast descent rate cannot be stopped (Zhenxing , 2009

2 .3 . How technology can help

As per the current norms of various governments , all aircrafts need to have instruments that quickly measure fall in temperature and pressure and thus they are able to detect a microburst . A pilot can thus be prepared for such an eventuality . If the problem occurs at higher altitudes , then the pilot can maneuver away to a safe zone . If the problem occurs during landing , the pilot is warned in advance and he can avoid landing (Zhenxing , 2009

3 . Case Study of Delta Air Lines Flight 191

According to NTSB (August 1985 , the Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashed on 2 August 1985 when it was on a routine flight from Fort Lauderdale to LA . A are pilot error combined with wind shear and Microburst . The aircraft flown was a Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar , a very reliable and long flying aircraft . When the airplane flew come to Louisiana , there was a thunderstorm and when it began descent . The pilots noticed the thunderstorm but decided to...