The Australian Transport Safety Bureau recommends that the
Bureau of Meteorology expedite the research and development program
to examine wind shifts and wind shear, with the objective to
improve the detection and forecasting of wind shifts and the
detection of windshear in the vicinity of high risk airport
terminal areas.
The following response dated 13 April 2004 was received from the
Bureau of Meteorology:
The Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre has been trialling a Low
Level Wind Shear Alert System at Darwin Airport for several years.
This system utilises a network of anemometers that report at
frequent intervals. The data is processed, wind shear is identified
and appropriate alerts are provided to ATC and pilots. An
operational trial of the system was successfully conducted in 1997
with warnings provided to ATC and pilots. The system was upgraded
in 1999 in a joint project with a private Australian company
wishing to develop the system commercially.
Up to now industry has not supported the extension of LLWAS systems
to other aerodromes. The perception has been that the frequency of
windshear events is not high enough to justify the cost of the
system (to install an LLWAS system at Sydney Airport would cost in
the order of one million dollars), and because this system would be
benefit the aviation industry exclusively, its cost would need to
be recovered from industry. There are also problems that need to be
resolved in regard to how the relevant information can be relayed
to pilots in a timely manner, given that the life cycle of wind
shear events can be in the order of a few minutes to 10
minutes.
The Bureau will continue to discuss the issue with both industry
forums and agency working groups to determine whether LLWAS is an
appropriate system for Australian conditions. It should be noted
also that, if there were a requirement for an LLWAS system, it
would be most likely a commercial off-the-shelf system, rather than
a Bureau-developed system.
