WEZARD - Weather hazards for aeronautics
Overview
Background & policy context:
On April 14th, 2010, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano and the accompanying cloud of volcanic ash forced most countries in northern Europe to shut their airspace, grounding more than 100,000 flights. This affected an estimated 10 million travellers and had a financial impact of 5 billion US$ over a seven day period. This event revealed to what extent our society and economy rely on the availability of a safe and efficient air transport system and how fragile it still is when faced with the complexity of atmospheric conditions.
Objectives:
WEZARD aimed to support and contribute to the preparation of future community research in air transport system robustness when faced with weather hazards. It focused on hazards which can be spread over large areas such as volcanic ash clouds or severe atmospheric conditions including icing.
Methodology:
The WEZARD consortium::
- took stock of the current knowledge of weather hazards affecting airframes, engines and systems and identified the needed technology and capability development pathways;
- compiled knowledge on the collection, processing and communication of meteorological data and investigated what research was needed on observation, forecasting tools, data assimilation and broadcasting;
- investigated the existing and needed safety standards and procedures;
- modelled the capacity of the scientific community to better understand, observe and simulate hazardous particles.
These activities resulted in a R&D roadmap identifying research gaps and priorities and provided recommendations to the main stakeholders of the aeronautical community. The WEZARD consortium consisted of 3 air framers, 2 engine manufacturers, 1 system supplier, 1 network of meteorological offices, 4 research centres, 1 provider of test facilities and 1 civil aviation authority over 2 years. An Advisory Board gathering a panel of international experts in relevant domains was set up to provide advice on the vision, priorities and directions proposed by the project.
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