TheShadow
21st Jan 2008, 04:41
What type aircraft was the United generating the turbulence?
What does this incident say about wake turbulence separation from the A380 (as it appears that RVSM altitude separations may be nowhere near enough to avoid the sinking powerful ake of a preceding large aircraft)?
link (http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=c8d743e2-bed8-4543-b60d-beb88e275010&k=53016)
Air Canada plane may have been following too closely
Louise Dickson , Canwest News Service; Victoria Times Colonist; with files from Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, January 18, 2008
VICTORIA - American air traffic controllers near the Canadian border saw "severe turbulence" when Air Canada Flight 190 dropped 300 metres in mid-air shortly after taking off from Victoria last Thursday.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said the high-altitude centre in Auburn, Wash., a small town southeast of Seattle, was involved in the "severe turbulence incident."
"They were tracking. They were involved. That's about all I can say," said Fergus.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating whether a United Airlines aircraft, flying just ahead of the Air Canada Airbus, created "wake turbulence" that caused the plane to sway and plunge. Wake turbulence is a powerful vortex of air that trails behind an aircraft as it flies. It can last up to two minutes after a plane has passed.
The United flight, which was flying just ahead of the Air Canada Airbus - perhaps as close as 12 kilometres - had the potential to create wake turbulence that could have caused the Air Canada plane's plummet, said Canadian Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson.
American investigators are assisting the safety board with its investigation of the incident. They are analyzing the flight data recorder of the United aircraft and will pass on raw data to Canadian investigators, said Knudson.
The Air Canada jet was flying from Victoria to Toronto with 83 passengers and five crew when it encountered control problems. Ten people were injured when the plane, cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet, rolled and dropped. It made an emergency landing in Calgary. Several passengers had to be treated in hospital after the plane set down.
Knudson would not release details on what kind of plane United was flying.
In Vancouver, safety board spokesman Bill Yearwood said aircraft must be eight kilometres apart or 300 metres above or under another aircraft.
Victoria Airport Authority manager Terry Stewart said Flight 190, which is a daily service, was flying a standard route to Toronto, just slightly south of the Canadian border on the Gulf stream.
The transportation safety board will post its preliminary report on the web in about a week to 10 days, said Fergus.
In November 2001, American Airlines flight 587 crashed into the suburb of Queens in New York City, killing all 260 people on board. A U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the crash blamed pilot error, saying the pilot tried to overcompensate after twice encountering wake turbulence from a Boeing 747.
What does this incident say about wake turbulence separation from the A380 (as it appears that RVSM altitude separations may be nowhere near enough to avoid the sinking powerful ake of a preceding large aircraft)?
link (http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=c8d743e2-bed8-4543-b60d-beb88e275010&k=53016)
Air Canada plane may have been following too closely
Louise Dickson , Canwest News Service; Victoria Times Colonist; with files from Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, January 18, 2008
VICTORIA - American air traffic controllers near the Canadian border saw "severe turbulence" when Air Canada Flight 190 dropped 300 metres in mid-air shortly after taking off from Victoria last Thursday.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said the high-altitude centre in Auburn, Wash., a small town southeast of Seattle, was involved in the "severe turbulence incident."
"They were tracking. They were involved. That's about all I can say," said Fergus.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating whether a United Airlines aircraft, flying just ahead of the Air Canada Airbus, created "wake turbulence" that caused the plane to sway and plunge. Wake turbulence is a powerful vortex of air that trails behind an aircraft as it flies. It can last up to two minutes after a plane has passed.
The United flight, which was flying just ahead of the Air Canada Airbus - perhaps as close as 12 kilometres - had the potential to create wake turbulence that could have caused the Air Canada plane's plummet, said Canadian Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson.
American investigators are assisting the safety board with its investigation of the incident. They are analyzing the flight data recorder of the United aircraft and will pass on raw data to Canadian investigators, said Knudson.
The Air Canada jet was flying from Victoria to Toronto with 83 passengers and five crew when it encountered control problems. Ten people were injured when the plane, cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet, rolled and dropped. It made an emergency landing in Calgary. Several passengers had to be treated in hospital after the plane set down.
Knudson would not release details on what kind of plane United was flying.
In Vancouver, safety board spokesman Bill Yearwood said aircraft must be eight kilometres apart or 300 metres above or under another aircraft.
Victoria Airport Authority manager Terry Stewart said Flight 190, which is a daily service, was flying a standard route to Toronto, just slightly south of the Canadian border on the Gulf stream.
The transportation safety board will post its preliminary report on the web in about a week to 10 days, said Fergus.
In November 2001, American Airlines flight 587 crashed into the suburb of Queens in New York City, killing all 260 people on board. A U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the crash blamed pilot error, saying the pilot tried to overcompensate after twice encountering wake turbulence from a Boeing 747.