Urgent action needed on growing plane turbulence problem

Wake turbulence that is suspected of causing the problem that injured 15 people on a Qantas 747, south of Hong Kong, on April 7 is a growing and serious problem that needs an urgent industry review. According to Aviation Herald reports, there have been 34 wake turbulence incidents in the past 10 years but 11 of those have been in the past two years. And with the doubling of air traffic every 15 years the problem is set to get worse. The most serious recent case was the encounter between an Emirates A380 and a corporate jet in January. The A380 flight EK412 from Dubai to Sydney was at 10,600m, about 1200km south-east of Muscat, when the business jet passed underneath in the opposite direction. After the A380 passed the corporate jet its crew lost control of the plane and were able to regain control of the plane only after losing about 3000m. A number of the passengers sustained injuries. Wake turbulence is a natural by-product of powered flight but was not generally regarded as a serious flight hazard until the late 1960s with the advent of the jumbo jet. It is a combination of the jet wash and the vortices off the wing tips, which are like mini tornadoes. A US led investigation into the phenomena resulted in separation guidelines for following planes but most serious incidents today relate to crossing traffic particularly at higher altitudes. While the Airbus A380 has been singled out for attention wake turbulence is an industry-wide problem involving all planes that is increasing mainly because of the growth of air traffic. And with that increase comes congestion and more stacking or holding of planes prior to landing. With more larger aircraft such as the A380, 747 and 777 and increasing traffic the time has come to revisit strategies to avoid wake turbulence.<br/>