FAA aviation weather research program in support of National Aviation Weather Initiatives

In 1997 the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security called for an 80 percent reduction in the rate of fatal aviation accidents by the year 2007. Weather is a factor in approximately a quarter of these accidents and costs the industry billions of dollars annually in delays and operating costs. Reduction in the number of weather-related accidents and delays is a principal goal of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). To achieve this goal, a group of experts were convened to help identify actions where improvements could be instituted that will lead to a reduction of accidents and mitigation in delays. These actions are referred to as initiatives and are documented in the National Aviation Weather Initiatives Report prepared by the Joint Action Group of the National Aviation Weather Program Council in the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology. In response to this report, the FAA Aviation Weather Research Program and Aviation Weather Directorate have undertaken an action to prioritize its research efforts in support of those initiatives. This paper discusses the research programs under development and how they support the overall goal to improve both the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System.