The Weather Information to Pilots project team has, over the last months, carefully considered the meteorological phenomena that contribute to aviation incidents and accidents. The team has reviewed the existing means to mitigate against the effects of the weather, including the use of on-board weather radar, other on-board sensors, the information provided to pilots pre-flight, and the information that is available in-flight. The team has also considered the means available to provide that information to pilots, such as communication systems and the emerging availability of Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) solutions. The human/machine interface should also be considered in the ‘holistic’ solution(s).
Please consult the Strategy Paper on ‘Weather Information to Pilots Strategy Paper - An Outcome of the All Weather Operations Project’ for further information.
The Agency proposes 9 recommendations listed below. It should be noted that they are in no particular order of priority:
| EASA Recommendation | Action |
| Recommendation #1: Education and training; weather hazards, mitigation, and use of on-board weather radar |
Require specific education and training on weather hazards and associated mitigation means, including optimum use of on-board weather radars and new services. |
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Recommendation #2: Improved weather briefing presentation |
Promote improvements to the presentation of weather information in flight briefing packages by promoting use of intuitive, interactive displays, appropriate use of standardised colour graphics and symbols, and intelligent filtering of information. |
| Recommendation #3: Promotion of in-flight weather information updates | Promote the use of the latest information available – what is available is as – if not more – valuable in the cockpit to ensure up to date situational awareness. Encourage the development and introduction of in-flight weather information applications on EFBs. |
| Recommendation #4: Pan-European high resolution forecasts | Support the pan-European developments regarding the provision of high resolution forecasts for aviation hazards (eg, CAT, icing, surface winds, CB, winter weather). |
| Recommendation #5: Use of supplementary, ‘Tier 2’ weather sources for aviation purposes | Develop the necessary provisions to support the use of supplementary’ ‘Tier 2’ meteorological information by pilots. |
| Recommendation #6: Development and enhancement of aircraft sensors/solutions | Promote the development of intrinsic aircraft capabilities to facilitate the recognition and, if required, the avoidance of hazardous weather. (e.g.on-board sensors for turbulence, sand / dust / volcanic ash, ice crystals). |
| Recommendation #7: Connectivity to support in-flight updates of meteorological information | Promote deployment of connectivity solutions (uplink and downlink) to support the distribution of meteorological information to pilots. |
| Recommendation #8: Provision of enhanced meteorological information | Promote provision of high resolution observed and forecast meteorological information, particularly data with high spatial and temporal resolution such as imagery derived from satellite and ground weather radar sources. |
| Recommendation #9: On-board weather radar, installation of latest generation equipment | Promote the installation of the latest generation of on-board weather radars, with emphasis on including capability for wind shear and turbulence detection. |