Extreme weather events have been causing travel chaos across Europe this winter.
How pilots land planes during 100 mph wind conditions and extreme storms
03.01.2024 - 22:03 / thepointsguy.com
The United Kingdom was rocked by storms and severe wind during the Christmas and New Year's holidays, causing a spree of flight cancellations and delays. But amid all of this chaos, spare a thought for the pilots left to grapple with the elements to safely land their flights.
Just as we saw two years ago with Storm Eunice, hundreds of thousands of people were once again gripped by Big Jet TV and its coverage of various commercial airliners landing at London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) as winds reached almost 100 mph.
Here, pilot Charlie Page explains what it's like attempting to land during extreme weather conditions.
The problems with strong winds start even before the aircraft has left the gate. The ramp area around a parked aircraft is very busy and potentially dangerous. Various service vehicles are required to prepare the aircraft for its next flight, and there are plenty of chances for a collision. Everyone working on the ramp must remain careful and vigilant at all times.
However, it can become even more dangerous when the wind picks up. Many items and structures on the ramp are not particularly aerodynamic and can be quickly affected by a rise in wind speed.
Sets of steps can blow over, baggage containers can move and other small objects, such as cones, steps, etc., can blow onto taxiways and runways. As a result, the ground staff must follow set procedures to ensure that these items do not become a threat to them or the aircraft.
Such procedures normally include adding extra chocks to the aircraft to ensure that it doesn't move, removing safety cones from around the aircraft and ensuring that there is no foreign object debris left around the aircraft. They will also tie down baggage containers and apply brakes to baggage trolleys.
As the forecast windspeed increases, more steps have to be taken. These could include moving all ground equipment into a building and stopping the use of steps and high lifts. All aircraft types also have a wind limit on the operation of the doors, both cabin and cargo. On the 787, this is 40 knots (46 mph). Beyond this, the doors should not be operated as it risks damaging the movement mechanism.
The result of all this could mean that the ground servicing of an aircraft is severely restricted and quite possibly stopped altogether. Aircraft may arrive at the gate but not be able to open the doors to unload baggage, and catering trucks may not be able to access the cabin to restock the galleys for the next flight.
All this can ultimately lead to delays.
While the wind causes problems on the ramp, up in the calm of the flight deck, the pilots prepare for departure and focus their minds on the challenges that strong winds bring. Our focus on this task will have begun
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