Turbulence can put stress on passengers, crew and aircraft. In worst cases, it can also lead to injuries as well as aircraft damage.
What if pilots had more advance warning and more precise data about upcoming turbulence thanks to a collaborative digital solution? What if they could prepare themselves and their passengers and even avoid the zone altogether?
Better predictions for better planning
In an effort to avoid turbulence, flight operations and flight crew try to anticipate and/or create the best trajectory, during the flight planning phase or whilst in flight. To do this, they need accurate data about turbulence, both current and forecasted.
Today, weather forecasting for turbulence is not always accurate enough. However, collecting data from aircraft in flight and actually experiencing turbulence, could improve accuracy for following aircraft. The key is data-sharing. We need to collect and share fleet-wide turbulence records using inputs from as wide a network as possible.
The expected benefits are clear:
Increased level of safety, reducing risk of passenger/crew injuries or aircraft damage.
Greater comfort for passengers and crew.
More optimised flight plans.
More optimised fuel burn, through improved turbulence forecasts.
Cross-aircraft collaboration
Road navigation apps enable drivers to alert others in real time about traffic issues. Similarly, what if an aircraft actually experiencing turbulence could quickly and automatically communicate precise data to other aircraft? This means that following aircraft would be forewarned and could even adapt their flight plans to avoid the turbulence, augmenting PIREPs (Pilot Reporting) with objective, atmospheric turbulence measurements.
Turbulence EDR* (Eddy Dissipation Rate) reporting and sharing enables enhanced situational awareness and decision-making. Avionics software collects data from the aircraft and computes Turbulence EDR, sends it to the IATA ground platform where all data is crosschecked, and shared with follower aircraft.
*EDR (Eddy Dissipation Rate) is a measure of the turbulent state of the atmosphere, independent of the aircraft. EDR has been adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) since 2001 as the standard metric for atmospheric turbulence.
This turbulence measurement provides:
– accurate, objective, automated, information, independent of the aircraft type
– more precision on the turbulence area, altitudes and level
– more precision on the smooth air areas
This means flight teams can choose optimal flight paths and altitudes, as well as accurately communicate to passengers and cabin attendants…
