The detection of convective turbulence using airborne Doppler radars

Encounters with convectively-induced turbulence can result in severe upsets to commercial aircraft. The 1998 turbulence encounter near Japan which resulted in numerous injuries and one death is a very tangible example. Many commercial aircraft are being fitted with airborne windshear radars which have the potential to detect significant convective turbulence. As part of NASA's Aviation Safety Program (AvSP), a joint industry-research community effort has been initiated to address this problem. This endeavor encompasses basic research into the phenomena, numerical modelling, the development of robust detection and quality control algorithms, end-to-end simulation and flight tests. This paper will describe these varied efforts as well as promising results.