Last updated: April 19 2010 15:17
European officials on Monday acknowledged weaknesses in the computer models that guided their decision to ground thousands of flights during the past week following a volcanic eruption in Iceland.
Many of the flights would have gone ahead under US aviation standards, they said, and urged that these be considered in the future.“The science behind the model we’re running at the moment is based on certain assumptions where we do not have clear scientific evidence. It is a black box in certain areas,” said Matthias Ruete, director-general for mobility and transport.
Mr Ruete noted, for example, that authorities were unsure what density of ash was hazardous for plane engines.
He also noted that early results of the 40-odd test flights conducted over the weekend by European airlines, such as
KLM and
Air France, suggested that the safety risk was less than the computer models had indicated.
“We looked at the engines and we also looked at the lubricated parts of the plane and windows and we found that there was no trace of ash,” he said.
Mr Ruete’s comments highlight the lack of technical expertise that has hamstrung European policymakers as they try to manage the consequences from a rare act of nature.