US Vice President Kamala Harris’ aircraft diverted to a Washington airport due to wind shear caused by the stormy weather while returning from Georgia.
Press secretary Kirsten Allen said, “Tonight, en route from Atlanta, GA, Air Force 2 was diverted from Joint Base Andrews to Dulles International Airport due to inclement weather,” reported Fox40.
According to a source familiar with the incident, no one sustained injuries, and the aircraft landed safely in Dulles. They said that wind shear caused by the storm forced the pilot to divert the plane.
What is wind shear?
Weather plays a significant role in aviation safety. Often, the culprit behind major incidents is poor weather conditions.
Wind shear is a sudden alteration in wind velocity and direction over a short distance. This weather phenomenon can happen at various levels of the atmosphere. However, it is more dangerous at the lower levels since it results in a sudden loss of airspeed and altitude.
The Bureau of Meteorology website states, “It is significant when it causes changes to an aircraft’s headwind or tailwind such that the aircraft is abruptly displaced from its intended flight path and substantial control action is required to correct it.”
Weather conditions like jet streams, mountain waves, temperature inversion layers, frontal surfaces, thunderstorms, convective clouds or microbursts can cause wind shear.
“During the climb-out and approach phases of flight, aircraft airspeed and height are near critical values, rendering the aircraft especially susceptible to the adverse effects of wind shear. The response of aircraft to wind shear is extremely complex and depends on many factors including the type of aircraft, the phase of flight, the scale on which the wind shear operates relative to the size of the aircraft, and the intensity and duration of the wind shear encountered,” it adds.
Although wind shear is a microscale meteorological phenomenon, it has been responsible for over 1,400 fatalities worldwide, including more than 400 deaths in the United States during 1973-1985, as per the report by NCAR.
However, with the advancement of technology, systems have been created to deal with the issue of low-level wind shear. These systems deployed at airports use data from several sources and send alerts to air traffic controllers, pilots, and airport meteorologists on graphical and alphanumeric displays.
(With inputs from agencies)
