Addressing the Microburst Threat to Aviation: A Research-to-Operations Success Story (Invited Presentation)

Among the more successful research-to-operations (R2O) programs in atmospheric science history has been the discovery and virtually the complete elimination of the microburst wind shear threat to commercial aviation. Between 1972 and 1995 wind shear posed a significant safety threat to commercial aviation. In this period nearly 800 passengers, flight crews, and some persons on the ground died from airline crashes attributed to wind shear. If the threat had been left unsolved, the viability of the global aviation industry would have been significantly impacted.

The eventual solution involved a sequence of discovery, research, development, testing, and training. These efforts led to the deployment of operational ground-based and airborne technologies that culminated in the end of United States air carrier accidents by 1995.

The effort began with Professor Ted Fujita’s discovery of the downburst and microburst phenomena in 1975. Fujita’s discovery was subsequently followed by several carefully designed field experiments that better defined and quantified the causes, structure, ranges of intensity, and the frequency of microbursts. Prototype observational systems were built and tested. Training aids were developed in collaboration with the airline industry. Hundreds of scientists and engineers in national laboratories, universities, and the private sector, as well as several federal agencies, the National Academies of Sciences, and airlines were involved. While primarily conducted in the United States, the effort extended to the international aviation community as well.

This paper and presentation will highlight the remarkable journey from scientific discovery to the national and international implementation of wind shear detection systems and pilot training and the societal impacts and benefits of this achievement.