Aviation Impacts and The Gannon Storm: From Pre-Flight Planning, Navigating and Safely Landing in a G5-Geomagnetic Storm, A Flight Deck Analysis

Allied Pilots Association-Aeromedical Committee, Chairman, CAPT Rondeau Flynn

Aviation Impacts and The Gannon Storm: From Pre-Flight Planning, Navigating and Safely Landing in a G5-Geomagnetic Storm, A Flight Deck Analysis

In May 2024, a NOAA SWPC G5-Geomagnetic Storm occurred, and the Legacy US airline community took notice. This talk will examine the details of Space Weather Product selection, flight-deck decision making, and navigating the largest Geomagnetic Storm in over 20 years. Observations will cover a 3-Day storm synopsis to include a multi-geomagnetic latitude analysis of sections within the National Airspace System (NAS), and highlight anomalies that can lead to the enhanced aviation Research-to-Operations (R20) framework.

Real-Time flight deck observations and airline standard operating procedures (SOP’s) can lead to a well-developed Operations-to Research (O2R) strategy for future storms. Incorporating already existing redundancy systems within the flight deck, and the advanced characteristics of today’s airline flight planning software, will lead to future risk mitigation strategies for the airline community. Advanced analysis that led to increased space weather product confirmation and flight deck decision making included; Intra-day Pre-Flight, and Post-Flight observations during the multi-day Gannon Storm. This analysis created opportunities to develop intra-storm, internal communications and confirmations using various space weather products that were not previously available from prior extreme storms.

Future Severe/Extreme (G4/G5) storm risk mitigation can be developed with increased stakeholder engagement throughout the aviation community. Additional observations that included risk reduction; US Government Agency engagement, airline weather provider enhanced communications, and internal airline space weather awareness and coordination.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the Allied Pilots Association (APA) serves as the certified collective bargaining agent for the 16,000 professional pilots who fly for American Airlines.

APA was founded in 1963 and is the largest independent pilots’ union in the world. APA provides a broad range of representation services for its members and devotes more than 20 percent of its dues income to support aviation safety.