How do pilots avoid storm ‘danger zones’, and how close are they allowed to get?
As a stewardess sues BA for getting too close to a storm ‘danger zone’, we ask what the rules are for evading the worst kinds of weather
Turbulence is a pain at the best of times. But now it could be the trigger for a £72,000 compensation headache for our national carrier – at least if a former cabin crew member gets her way.
Ex-flight attendant Laura Lanigan is suing British Airways, her former employer, on the grounds that it was the airline’s fault that she was injured during a bout of turbulence on a flight to Mumbai. Her lawyers claim that the captain should have done more to avoid the perilous storm clouds that rocked the plane.
The lawsuit could rumble on for a while yet, but the case raises a good question for anyone who thinks about the ins and outs of aviation: just how much pilots can do to avoid storms in the first place.
It won’t come as a surprise that flying through thunderstorms isn’t considered a good idea. Indeed, when it comes to avoiding storm clouds, much of the work takes place before the flight even takes off – during what is known as the pre-flight briefing.
“Before departure, we closely examine the en-route weather forecasts, looking for areas of clear-air turbulence and thunderstorm activity,” says Nick Eades, a veteran 747 captain and the author of several memoirs and novels about aviation. Pilots will usually have access to detailed meteorological reports, which can flag up any areas of concern.
Planning a route is one thing, but pilots also need to be prepared for sudden changes in weather, too. This is a particular concern on certain routes – especially those which cross what meteorologists call the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), a belt of low pressure near the Equator known for its intense atmospheric activity (or, in layman’s terms, terrible storms).
“If we think we are likely to do a lot of weather avoidance, we take extra fuel to allow for the additional miles,” says another captain – an active pilot for a major full-service airline. He tells me that this practice is standard on certain routes, particularly on flights from Europe to Africa which cross the ITCZ.
Most airlines recommend that pilots stay around 10 to 20 miles away from the storm itself, and that planes should go around rather than over them (given that storms can rise quickly). Where a short-term detour is necessary, pilots can request an updated route from air traffic control, which can sometimes run to hundreds of miles.
“On a flight from Sydney to Singapore, we had to deviate over 200 miles from our route to avoid a line of thunderstorms,” says Eades. “We had added extra fuel to allow for this, but we were still surprised at just how far we had to fly to avoid the weather.”
What would happen if a pilot did get trapped in storm clouds? Well, there are real-world examples of this too. But you may be surprised – and relieved – to know that flying through a storm is far from the life-or-death situation that nervous flyers may imagine.
Not only are planes built to withstand extreme weather, but well-trained pilots have the tools they need to minimise turbulence. Most of the time, the greater risk is that the aircraft might suffer structural damage – for example, hailstones chipping the windscreen. Even then, it probably means an unscheduled landing and a hefty repair bill, rather than an emergency.
Believe it or not, a modern passenger jet is even capable of withstanding a direct lightning strike. In fact, the average commercial passenger jet is hit by lightning around once a year. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the shock simply travels along the outer fuselage without causing any damage to the structure – let alone the people on board.
One area where storms can cause more problems is during landing. Not only is the plane typically more vulnerable to extreme gusts at this point, but storms can also cause a dangerous effect called wind shear: a phenomenon in which the speed and direction of the wind can suddenly change.
In some cases, pilots may choose to divert to an alternative airport to avoid wind shear, but it isn’t unknown for pilots to have to land during intense winds. In those cases, they will typically make use of a technique known as “crabbing” in order to keep the plane as stable as possible during its descent.
The manoeuvre involves pointing the aircraft directly into the wind and then drifting sideways into position (hence the crab analogy). It enjoyed a brief moment of fame during Storm Eunice in 2022, when an aviation enthusiast captured footage of planes landing at Heathrow Airport.
The videos are enough to make even a frequent flyer squirm, admittedly. But they do show what well-trained pilots are capable of doing in treacherous conditions. Compared with such daring manoeuvres, flying around a few storm clouds at 35,000ft is easy – at least for the professionals.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/pilot-storm-danger-zones/
Turbulence is a pain at the best of times. But now it could be the trigger for a £72,000 compensation headache for our national carrier – at least if a former cabin crew member gets her way.
Ex-flight attendant Laura Lanigan is suing British Airways, her former employer, on the grounds that it was the airline’s fault that she was injured during a bout of turbulence on a flight to Mumbai. Her lawyers claim that the captain should have done more to avoid the perilous storm clouds that rocked the plane.
The lawsuit could rumble on for a while yet, but the case raises a good question for anyone who thinks about the ins and outs of aviation: just how much pilots can do to avoid storms in the first place.
It won’t come as a surprise that flying through thunderstorms isn’t considered a good idea. Indeed, when it comes to avoiding storm clouds, much of the work takes place before the flight even takes off – during what is known as the pre-flight briefing.
“Before departure, we closely examine the en-route weather forecasts, looking for areas of clear-air turbulence and thunderstorm activity,” says Nick Eades, a veteran 747 captain and the author of several memoirs and novels about aviation. Pilots will usually have access to detailed meteorological reports, which can flag up any areas of concern.
Planning a route is one thing, but pilots also need to be prepared for sudden changes in weather, too. This is a particular concern on certain routes – especially those which cross what meteorologists call the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), a belt of low pressure near the Equator known for its intense atmospheric activity (or, in layman’s terms, terrible storms).
“If we think we are likely to do a lot of weather avoidance, we take extra fuel to allow for the additional miles,” says another captain – an active pilot for a major full-service airline. He tells me that this practice is standard on certain routes, particularly on flights from Europe to Africa which cross the ITCZ.
Most airlines recommend that pilots stay around 10 to 20 miles away from the storm itself, and that planes should go around rather than over them (given that storms can rise quickly). Where a short-term detour is necessary, pilots can request an updated route from air traffic control, which can sometimes run to hundreds of miles.
“On a flight from Sydney to Singapore, we had to deviate over 200 miles from our route to avoid a line of thunderstorms,” says Eades. “We had added extra fuel to allow for this, but we were still surprised at just how far we had to fly to avoid the weather.”
What would happen if a pilot did get trapped in storm clouds? Well, there are real-world examples of this too. But you may be surprised – and relieved – to know that flying through a storm is far from the life-or-death situation that nervous flyers may imagine.
Not only are planes built to withstand extreme weather, but well-trained pilots have the tools they need to minimise turbulence. Most of the time, the greater risk is that the aircraft might suffer structural damage – for example, hailstones chipping the windscreen. Even then, it probably means an unscheduled landing and a hefty repair bill, rather than an emergency.
Believe it or not, a modern passenger jet is even capable of withstanding a direct lightning strike. In fact, the average commercial passenger jet is hit by lightning around once a year. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the shock simply travels along the outer fuselage without causing any damage to the structure – let alone the people on board.
One area where storms can cause more problems is during landing. Not only is the plane typically more vulnerable to extreme gusts at this point, but storms can also cause a dangerous effect called wind shear: a phenomenon in which the speed and direction of the wind can suddenly change.
In some cases, pilots may choose to divert to an alternative airport to avoid wind shear, but it isn’t unknown for pilots to have to land during intense winds. In those cases, they will typically make use of a technique known as “crabbing” in order to keep the plane as stable as possible during its descent.
The manoeuvre involves pointing the aircraft directly into the wind and then drifting sideways into position (hence the crab analogy). It enjoyed a brief moment of fame during Storm Eunice in 2022, when an aviation enthusiast captured footage of planes landing at Heathrow Airport.
The videos are enough to make even a frequent flyer squirm, admittedly. But they do show what well-trained pilots are capable of doing in treacherous conditions. Compared with such daring manoeuvres, flying around a few storm clouds at 35,000ft is easy – at least for the professionals.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/pilot-storm-danger-zones/
