Storms Cause Severe Delays At Florida Airports Including Tampa, Orlando & West Palm
Dust storms are a weather phenomenon involving huge clouds of dust particles. They are most commonly found in dry, arid regions of the world, such as North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. In the US, most dust storms occur in the Southwest.
In addition to disruption to everyday life in affected areas, dust storms can also have a significant impact on the aviation industry and airline operations. In this article, we will look at what dust storms are, how they are formed, and whether aircraft can continue to fly through dust storms.
How Are Dust Storms Formed?
Strong winds play a crucial role in the formation of dust storms. These strong winds are produced by a variety of weather systems. For example, in the US Southwest, these systems are normally convective, with strong downward winds from thunderstorms producing most of the dust storms. The now infamous duststorms of 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona, are believed to have been formed by thunderstorms more than 100 miles away.
The phenomenon occurs most commonly in the dry summer months, with dust storms normaly developing in dry and arid parts of the world. The situation is exacerbated by drought, which dries out the topsoil, making it lighter and more easily picked up by the wind.
Climate change has also had a significant impact, with drier conditions prevailing in many previously temperate regions of the world. Unsustainable agricultural practices can further exacerbate the problem - for example in Northern China, there is now an average of 30 dust storms each year.
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Dust Storms Can Be Unpredictable
Dust storms can be particularly problematic, as unlike other weather phenomena such as snowstorms or tropical storms, they can appear quickly and are often harder to predict. This gives airlines and airports across the affected regions little time to prepare or respond.
As reported by the Flight Safety Foundation, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) experienced a particularly troublesome dust storm, which appeared within minutes on a seemingly calm day back in July 2011. The report says,
"A one-mile (1.6 km)-high, 100-mile (1610 km)-wide wall of dust roared in from the southeast, moving at 30-40 mph (48-64 kph). At the airport, the leading edge of the dust cloud moved through at 1847. Within minutes, a full-blown dust storm or haboob -- Arabic for "strong wind" -- was well underway. At its worst, the visibility dropped to 1/8 mi (200 m) and the winds gusted to 46 kt. The airport was closed for 45 minutes. The reduced visibilities and strong winds lasted for hours."
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Potentially Deadly Consequences
In March 2005, a British Mediterranean Airways Airbus A321 was caught up in a sandstorm while landing at Khartoum International Airport (KRT) in Sudan, in what was later described as a "serious incident." The Flight Safety Foundation goes on to say,
"After two aborted approaches, a third approach was attempted. This approach also became unstable when the airplane descended too quickly as it neared the runway. With visibilities below acceptable minimums, the pilot initiated a go-around. The airplane was within 121 ft (37 m) of the ground before the crew pulled up."
Just three years later, in 2008, a Sudan Airways Airbus A300 rejected its landing at Khartoum International Airport (KRT) due to a sandstorm and instead diverted to Port Sudan New International Airport (PZU). However, the aircraft crashed on landing, killing 30 of the 214 passengers and crew members onboard. The sandstorm at the flight's intended destination airport was thought to be a contributing factor to the crash.
Another incident took place back in 1963, when Aeroflot Flight 191 crashed while landing at Ashgabat International Airport (ASB) in a dust storm. Of the 54 passengers and crew members onboard the Ilyushin Il-18, 12 were killed.
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Reduced Visibility
The most common impact of a dust storm on an aircraft is reduced visibility for the pilots. This means they will increasingly depend on the aircraft's navigation tools. Luckily, aircraft are well-equipped to deal with such situations, for example when operating at night time or in cloudy weather.
However, airport operations may be affected by reduced visibility as a result of dust storms. When faced with lower visibility, airports may need to commence low-visibility procedures (LVPs), which restrict the number of aircraft departing and landing each hour. This ensures the continuation of safe operations by maximizing the distance between each aircraft. It can, however, severely disrupt operations and cause significant delays for airlines and their passengers.
Visibility may even be reduced to such a level that airports are left with no choice but to temporarily suspend all operations. This is an extreme scenario but with the importance of safety being paramount, it can happen.
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Possible Engine Failure
An even more serious of consequence of flying too near or in a dust storm is potential engine failure. Dust and sand particles that are ingested into aircraft engines can cause millions of dollars of damage to the engine, and even lead to complete engine failure.
The fine particles of dust and sand can erode compressor blades within the engine, reduce engine efficiency, and cause deposits that clog fuel nozzles and block cooling passages. In addition, if dust and sand particles find their way into the cockpit and other vital aircraft equipment, problems with electrical equipment and overall control of the aircraft may arise.
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What Is The Difference Between Dust Storms & Sand Storms?
It is easy to mix up a dust storm and a sand storm, with many similarities between the two. However, there are also clear differences. As the name suggests, a dust storm is made up of dust particles and is formed by the wind.
On the other hand, a sand storm is made up of sand grains. Sand storms only occur in dry and arid parts of the world where sand is prevalent, such as deserts and their immediate surroundings. Sand grains are larger and heavier than dust particles, and so cannot be carried as high into the air. According to Skybrary, sand storms move material by three mechanisms:
Suspension - "dust and very light sand particles carried, often to great heights, by the wind." Saltation - "sand particles vibrate as the wind increases and then bounce along dislodging other particles. In so doing they also become negatively charged, which has the effect of increasing the amount of dust and sand particles becoming dislodged." Creep - "blowing large particles along the ground."
Dust storms occur much more frequently than sandstorms, and are prevalent in more parts of the world, making them a much bigger threat to airline and airport operations.
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Potentially catastrophic consequences
While an aircraft may be equipped to cope with low visibility, the potential damage to the aircraft and engines that dust and sand particles can cause is enough to prevent it from flying through dust storms. The same can be applied to flying too close to a dust storm, as even tiny particles that are invisible to the naked eye can cause damage.
Other weather systems can also have a significant impact on airline operations, most commonly snowstorms and hurricanes. Snowstorms across the Northeast of the US can frequently cause disruption throughout the winter, leading to lengthy flight delays and cancellations. Likewise, when a strong hurricane hits, airline and airport operations are often temporarily suspended altogether.
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