What flying conditions give the worst wake turbulence?

Research shows the greatest potential for a wake turbulence incident occurs when a light aircraft is turning from base to final behind a heavy aircraft flying a straight-in approach.



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However, the vortex strength from an aircraft increases proportionately to an increase in operating weight or a decrease in aircraft speed. Since the turbulence from a “dirty” aircraft configuration hastens wake decay, the greatest vortex strength occurs when the generating aircraft is HEAVY, CLEAN, and SLOW.

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Depending on the size of the helicopter, significant wake turbulence can be generated. Helicopter wakes may be of significantly greater strength than those from fixed-wing aircraft of similar weight. The strongest wake turbulence can occur when the helicopter is operating at lower speeds (20 to 50 knots).

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These distances apply when one aircraft is operating directly behind (within 1/2 NM laterally) another, or is crossing behind, at the same level and up to 1000 feet below. In this same situation when the separation will be less than 2 minutes, radar controllers should issue a caution of possible wake turbulence.

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Since the turbulence from a “dirty” aircraft configuration hastens wake decay, the greatest vortex strength occurs when the generating aircraft is HEAVY, CLEAN, and SLOW. In rare instances, a wake encounter could cause catastrophic inflight structural damage to an aircraft.

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AVOID THE AREA BELOW AND BEHIND THE WAKE GENERATING AIRCRAFT, ESPECIALLY AT LOW ALTITUDE WHERE EVEN A MOMENTARY WAKE ENCOUNTER COULD BE CATASTROPHIC. A common scenario for a wake encounter is in terminal airspace after accepting clearance for a visual approach behind landing traffic.

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On Monday 3 March 1997 at 1014 hours, privately owned and operated Cessna 185 encountered wake turbulence from previous departing aircraft, the pilot lost control of the aircraft at a height from which recovery was not possible and the aircraft descended to the ground.

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Pilot Action to Mitigate Wake Turbulence Encounters: Approximately 10-30 miles after passing 1,000' below opposite-direction traffic. Approximately 10-30 miles behind and 1,000' below same-direction traffic.

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Which Plane Handles Turbulence Best? The bigger the plane, the better! Any plane can experience turbulence, but larger planes weigh more and don't feel the impact of wind changes as much as a smaller plane. Specifically, the Airbus A380 handles turbulence very well!

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In addition, if flying over large areas of land, day-time temperatures can rapidly increase, creating convection air movement and thus turbulence, so travelling in the early morning before temperatures get high can avoid this turbulence.

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Pilots review en-route conditions before departure, which include turbulence charts. This, alongside checking with center controllers about ride conditions while in the air, helps inform pilots about the flight conditions. Unlike other forms of turbulence, wake turbulence is predictable.

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Wake turbulence categories
  • Light (L) — aircraft types of 7,000 kg or less.
  • Medium (M) — aircraft types more than 7,000 kg but less than 136,000 kg; and.
  • Heavy (H) — all aircraft types of 136 000 kg or more, with the exception of aircraft types in Super (J) category; and.


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The stronger the wind speed (generally, a surface wind of 20 knots or higher is required for significant turbulence), the rougher the terrain and the more unstable the air, the greater will be the turbulence. Of these factors that affect the formation of turbulence, stability is the most important.

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Wake turbulence from a large enough aircraft will cause the one following to flip and possibly crash into the ground.

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Using weather radar
Most commercial aircraft now pack weather radar – from the Airbus A321 to the Boeing 777. Weather radar can pick up weather systems sufficiently ahead to warn of precipitation and turbulence, allowing the fast-moving aircraft to divert in time to equally protect the humans and the aircraft.

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Wake turbulence is not just common, it's automatic. The magnitude at which it can affect another aircraft is less so and determined by how heavy an aircraft is, and how fast it is going. You can experience a low magnitude wake turbulence in a small private aircraft if you can execute a tight, level turn.

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The best seat on the plane to avoid turbulence is either over the wings or towards the front of the aircraft. The wings of the plane keep it balanced and smooth, whereas the tail of the aircraft can bounce up and down more.

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Turbulence is a sudden and sometimes violent shift in airflow. Those irregular motions in the atmosphere create air currents that can cause passengers on an airplane to experience annoying bumps during a flight, or it can be severe enough to throw an airplane out of control. (The pilots) aren't scared at all.

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