Tue, Jan 13, 2009
Sunday Incident Raises Eyebrows
Details remain sketchy at this point, and there's some
information that's likely "lost in translation" -- but it appears
an Airbus A320 narrowbody encountered some moderate to severe clear
air turbulence this weekend, which may have been caused by the wake
from an Emirates A380 overflying the smaller plane.
Armenian news reports state the Armavia Airlines A320 was over
the former Soviet state of Georgia when the plane suddenly banked
sharply to the right, triggering an automatic disconnect of the
aircraft's autopilot system. The flight crew was able to quickly
regain control, and the A320 continued on safely to its destination
of Yerevan.
Armavia states that at the time of the incident, an Emirates
superjumbo from Dubai to New York was 'flying in parallel' to the
smaller plane, roughly 300 meters (approximately 984 feet) higher.
The carrier believes the rough ride for its A320 was caused by wake
vortices off the wingtips of the much larger Heavy.
An investigation has been launched... but at face value the A380
appears to have been in compliance with International Civil
Aviation Organization standards for Reduced Vertical Separation
Minima (RVSM) operations, which call for 1,000 foot vertical
separation between conflicting traffic above FL290.
If Armavia's theory holds up, however, it may result in ICAO
revisiting the minimum separation guidelines for traffic in trail
of an A380.
As ANN reported in 2006, a three-year study
determined wake vortices off an A380 in cruise flight were no
greater than from any other Heavy aircraft (the A380 is officially
designated as a "Super" Heavy), though stricter guidelines are in
place when an A380 is landing or taking off.
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