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9.2 Weather Hazards


Weather Hazards

     I believe tornadoes are the most dangerous weather condition to handle aircraft operations in. During a tornado, the primary focus around airports is where to put the aircraft so that they are not lifted from the ground and completely destroyed. All planes are quickly put in hangars or evacuated from the airport if possible. The updrafts caused by tornadoes are certain death for any unlucky pilot who happens to be in the air within a certain radius of the storm. Tornadoes are complete disasters for every airport they plow through, like a hurricane, only tornadoes can affect airports from all over the US.
     In order for a tornado to form, certain conditions must be present. They most commonly form during violent thunderstorms, because thunderstorms provide sufficient instability, and there is wind shear in the lower atmosphere. Earth's weather occurs in the troposphere, and tornadoes cause the wind in the troposphere to violently twist and cause updrafts and violent downdrafts. These drafts "throw" wind up to 318 mph during an F5 tornado.
     An example of how tornadoes can destroy airport operations would be the tornado which ripped through KAYT in Turkey. 12 passengers were injured and aircraft were damaged all over the airport. Several airlines operating there lost expensive ground equipment. Here is a link to the video coverage: https://youtu.be/yR5o_sY-Vko







References: (n.d.). Layers of the Earth's Atmosphere. Retrieved from https://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/layers.html

 Prosperi, M. (2019, January 27). Planes Take Direct Hit as Tornado Rips Through Major Turkish Airport. Retrieved from https://thepointsguy.com/news/tornado-rips-through-major-turkish-airport/

 (n.d.). Weather Questions & Answers. Retrieved from https://weatherstreet.com/weatherquestions/What_causes_tornadoes.htm

















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