Challenge

On May 21, 2024, Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 experienced severe turbulence over Myanmar. Sudden altitude changes resulted in unsecured passengers and objects being tossed around the cabin. How could the aircraft get into this dangerous situation? An analysis of the weather situation revealed that this turbulence event was most likely caused by developing convective activity as can be seen here. For pilots, it is sometimes difficult to recognize convective activity, because of the limitations of the on-board radar and the fact that conventional weather forecasts cannot predict the exact location and time of the occurrence of convection.

Solution

The company WxFUSION offers a solution with their Cb-global product.  Cb-global uses satellite and lightning data to detect thunderstorms and convectively induced turbulence in near real-time and provides a forecast up to one hour based on these observations. This method is referred to as nowcasting and provides valuable information about the weather hazards beyond the limited view of the on-board radar and with high accuracy with regard to the hazard’s time of occurrence, location, and development. Key features of Cb-global include: 

1. Early Warning: Cb-global provides a situational overview of thunderstorm and convective turbulence activity in real-time and could have informed pilots of significant thunderstorm and turbulence activity over Myanmar already 45 minutes before the incident. This information would have allowed the pilots to take proactive measures. 

2. Detailed Real-Time Information: Continuous updates every ten minutes would have given pilots an accurate picture of the dynamic and rapidly changing convective cells along their flight route. 

3. Better Decision-Making: With information from Cb-global, pilots would have had the opportunity to turn on the seatbelt signs in time or choose alternative routes to avoid turbulent areas. 

Result

Could risks like those experienced by Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 be reduced? Yes, with the real-time thunderstorm and turbulence detection and nowcasting of Cb-global. Cb-global provides weather hazard analyses and nowcasts in real time with details that cannot be forecast with traditional weather forecasting models. Its advanced technology offers the ability to accurately monitor and predict dangerous and dynamic convective weather conditions. This can greatly improve aviation safety by enabling pilots to decide on proactive measures in time.

Watch out: Cb-global will be soon part of Logipad EFB

Cb-global will soon be integrated into Logipad EFB, enhancing its capabilities with real-time weather information. This integration will provide pilots with timely alerts and detailed convective turbulence and thunderstorm nowcasts directly within their electronic flight bag. By combining advanced weather now–casts with flight planning tools, Logipad EFB aims to significantly improve flight safety and operational efficiency.