Wake turbulence
Wake turbulence is a disturbance in the atmosphere that forms behind an aircraft as it passes through the air. It is primarily associated with trailing vortices generated as the aircraft produces lift, most notably wingtip vortices.
Wake turbulence is especially hazardous in the region behind an aircraft in the takeoff or landing phases of flight. During takeoff and landing, an aircraft operates at a high angle of attack. This flight attitude maximizes the formation of strong vortices. In the vicinity of an airport, there can be multiple aircraft, all operating at low speed and low altitude; this provides an extra risk of wake turbulence with a reduced height from which to recover from any upset.
Definition
Wake turbulence is a type of clear-air turbulence. In the case of wake turbulence created by the wings of a heavy aircraft, the rotating vortex-pair lingers for a significant amount of time after the passage of the aircraft, sometimes more than a minute. One of these rotating vortices can impose rolling moments that may exceed the roll-control authority of a smaller encountering aircraft, potentially resulting in loss of control.In fixed-wing level flight
The vortex circulation is outward, upward, and around the wingtips when viewed from either ahead or behind the aircraft. Tests with large aircraft have shown that vortices remain spaced less than a wingspan apart, drifting with the wind, at altitudes greater than a wingspan from the ground. Tests have also shown that the vortices sink at a rate of several hundred feet per minute, slowing their descent and diminishing in strength with time and distance behind the generating aircraft.At altitude, vortices sink at a rate of per minute and stabilize about below the flight level of the generating aircraft. Therefore, aircraft operating at altitudes greater than are considered to be at less risk.
When the vortices of larger aircraft sink close to the ground — within — they tend to move laterally over the ground at a speed of. A crosswind decreases the lateral movement of the upwind vortex and increases the movement of the downwind vortex.
Helicopters
s also produce wake turbulence. Helicopter wakes may be significantly stronger than those of a fixed-wing aircraft of the same weight. The strongest wake will occur when the helicopter is operating at slower speeds. Light helicopters with two-blade rotor systems produce a wake as strong as heavier helicopters with more than two blades. The rotor wake of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey can be hazardous; a United States Air Force accident investigation of a 2012 CV-22B crash attributed the accident to a failure to maintain wake separation from another CV-22 during formation manoeuvring.Hazard avoidance
s may slightly lessen the power of wingtip vortices. However, such changes are not significant enough to change the distances or times at which it is safe to follow other aircraft.Wake turbulence categories
mandates wake turbulence categories based upon the maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft. These are used for separation of aircraft during take-off and landing.There are a number of separation criteria for take-off, landing, and en-route phases of flight based upon wake turbulence categories. Air Traffic Controllers will sequence aircraft making instrument approaches with regard to these criteria. The aircraft making a visual approach is advised of the relevant recommended spacing and are expected to maintain their separation.
Parallel or crossing runways
During takeoff and landing, an aircraft's wake sinks toward the ground and moves laterally away from the runway when the wind is calm. A crosswind will tend to keep the upwind side of the wake in the runway area and may cause the downwind side to drift toward another runway. Since the wingtip vortices exist at the outer edge of an airplane's wake, this can be dangerous.Staying at or above the leader's glide path
Warning signs
Wake turbulence encounters commonly present as induced rolling and/or pitching moments, and may be difficult for pilots to distinguish from turbulence generated by other sources. The hazard is greatest at low altitude during take-off and landing, where there is less height available for recovery.When wake turbulence is suspected, avoidance is primarily achieved by adjusting the flight path to remain clear of the area behind and below the generating aircraft, including small changes in altitude or lateral position to exit the vortex region. On approach, discontinuing the landing attempt and executing a go-around is an available option for avoiding a developing or suspected wake encounter.
Plate lines
In 2020, researchers looked into installing "plate lines" near the runway threshold to induce secondary vortices and shorten the vortex duration. In the trial installation at Vienna International Airport, they reported a 22%–37% vortex reduction.Incidents involving wake turbulence
- 8 June 1966 – an XB-70 collided with an F-104. Though the true cause of the collision is unknown, it is believed that due to the XB-70 being designed to have enhanced wake turbulence to increase lift, the F-104 moved too close, therefore getting caught in the vortex and colliding with the wing.
- 30 May 1972 – A DC-9 crashed at the Greater Southwest International Airport while performing "touch and go" landings behind a DC-10. This crash prompted the FAA to create new rules for minimum following separation from "heavy" aircraft.
- 16 January 1987 – A Yakovlev Yak-40 crashed just after take-off in Tashkent. The flight took off just one minute fifteen seconds after an Ilyushin Il-76, thus encountering its wake vortex. The Yakovlev Yak-40 then banked sharply to the right, struck the ground, and caught fire. All nine people on board Aeroflot Flight 505 died.
- 6 February 1991 – A Boeing KC-135E Stratotanker, registered as 58-0013, suffered an accident when two out of the four engines detached from the aircraft due to severe wake turbulence from another KC-135 and from high winds. The pilots managed to execute an emergency at Prince Abdullah Air Base, Saudi Arabia, saving all four crew members onboard.
- 15 December 1993 – A chartered IAI Westwind business jet with five people on board, including In-N-Out Burger President Rich Snyder, crashed several miles before John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, killing everyone onboard. The aircraft was following a Boeing 757 for landing when it became caught in its wake turbulence, rolled into a deep descent, and crashed. As a result of this and other incidents involving aircraft following behind a Boeing 757, the FAA now employs the separation rules of heavy aircraft for the Boeing 757.
- 20 September 1999 – A JAS 39A Gripen from Airwing F 7 Såtenäs crashed into Lake Vänern in Sweden during an air combat maneuvering exercise. After passing through the wake vortex of the other aircraft, the Gripen abruptly changed course. Before the Gripen impacted the ground, the pilot ejected from the aircraft and landed safely by parachute in the lake.
- 12 November 2001 – American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into the Belle Harbor neighbourhood of Queens, New York, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport. The accident was attributed to the first officer's misuse of the rudder in response to wake turbulence from a Japan Airlines Boeing 747, resulting in the overstressing and separation of the vertical stabiliser.
- 8 July 2008 – A United States Air Force PC-12 trainer crashed at Hurlburt Field, Fla., when the pilot tried to land too closely behind a larger AC-130U Spooky gunship and was caught in the gunship's wake turbulence. Air Force rules require at least a two-minute separation between slow-moving heavy planes like the AC-130U and small, light planes, but the PC-12 trailed the gunship by only about 40 seconds. As the PC-12 hit the wake turbulence, it suddenly rolled to the left and began to turn upside down. The instructor pilot stopped the roll, but before he could get the plane upright, the left wing struck the ground, sending the plane skidding across a field before stopping on a paved overrun.
- 3 November 2008 – The wake turbulence of an Airbus A380-800 caused temporary loss of control to a Saab 340 on approach to a parallel runway during high crosswind conditions.
- 4 November 2008 – In the 2008 Mexico City plane crash, a Learjet 45 carrying Mexican Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mouriño crashed near Paseo de la Reforma Avenue when turning for final approach to runway 05R at Mexico City International Airport. The airplane was flying behind a 767-300 and above a heavy helicopter. According to the Mexican government, the pilots were not told about the type of plane that was approaching before them, nor did they reduce to minimum approach speed.
- 9 September 2012 – A Robin DR 400 crashed after rolling 90 degrees in wake turbulence induced by the preceding Antonov An-2. Three were killed and one was severely injured.
- 28 March 2014 – An Indian Air Force C-130J-30 KC-3803 crashed near Gwalior, India, killing all five personnel aboard.
- 7 January 2017 – A private Bombardier Challenger 604 rolled three times in midair and dropped after encountering wake turbulence when it passed under an Airbus A380 over the Arabian Sea. Several passengers were injured, one seriously. Due to the G-forces experienced, the plane was damaged beyond repair and was consequently written off.
- 14 June 2018 – At 11:29 pm, Qantas passenger flight QF94, en route from Los Angeles to Melbourne, suffered a sudden freefall over the ocean after lift-off as a result of an intense wake vortex. The event lasted for about ten seconds, according to the passengers. The turbulence was caused by the wake of the previous Qantas flight QF12, which had departed only two minutes before flight QF94.