Hi Pearly,
Wake turbulence is a very real -- though rarely lethal -- threat to airplanes flying "low and slow."
Wake turbulence is not caused by weather, but by the briefly-lived vortices that swirl off of the wingtips of all aircraft, and which are especially severe when they're caused by a fully-loaded large jetliner (eg, a 747 at max gross takeoff weight.)
These vortices are essentially horizontal tornadoes spinning at 200-300 mph in a radius of 15 meters or so. They can cause enormous forces on following aircraft flying through the same airspace, but they diminish rapidly after about 120 seconds. That's the reason your flight may be held on the runway for a couple minutes if it's taking off after a "heavy," or jumbo jet.
Combine the powerful rotational force of wake vortices with, say, a pre-existing mechanical degradation of a tail assembly mount, and such an accident as the American flight at Kennedy is not inconceivable. Though, I have to admit, while I've heard of planes crashing due to loss of control from a wake vortex encounter, I've never heard of an airplane breaking apart because of it.
Cheers and happy flying,
Climber (formerly a CFI / commercial pilot) |
