What are the density figures which it's safe to fly through? I can tell you the answer, none are defined. The rules are no flying through ash contaminated airspace, very woolly but with no possibility of misinterpretation. Hence the call for some standards to be defined, cause we have none.
Exactly!
However, there will always be contaminants in the atmosphere, which includes volcanic ash. Volcanic activity in the past has seen volcanic ash tracked to circle the globe up to three times and remain in the atmosphere for years.
Do you subscribe that we dont fly if there is any contaminants in the atmoshpere ?
What about aircraft that have been stored within 200nm of marine air, which corrodes blades and disks, which is equally damaging to engines (in different ways)?
Operators monitor engine conditions routinely as its a very inexpensive way of managing a very expensive piece of equipment.
The rules are no flying through ash contaminated airspace
So you are saying that the BA flight to Cardiff and other VFR operations which have occured since last week have been conducted outside of regulations ?
Can you please post the regulation and under which regulatory body this citation pertains to which should therefore stipulate the conentrations at which airspace would therefore be 'contaminated', how that airsapce is defined .. is it a FIR or an airway ... and who would therefore determine the contamination levels and by what method. thx.