Education Commons^™

General Aviation Weather Encounter Case Studies, John Lanicci, Massoud Bazargan, Daniel Halperin, Scott Shappell, Jaclyn Baron, Rebecca Iden, Carla Hackworth, Kali Holcomb

John M Lanicci

This study presents a compilation of 24 cases involving general aviation (GA) pilots’ weather encounters over the continental U.S. The project team interviewed pilots who had experienced a weather encounter, and we examined their backgrounds, flight experience, and weather encounter details. Results from meteorological data analysis for each weather encounter were consistent with findings of larger GA weather accident studies in terms of the types of hazards encountered and flight phase during which the encounters occurred. Investigation of pilot weather products and the sources from which they were obtained revealed a lack of uniformity of pre-flight data sources and underutilization …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of An Education And Training Module For General Aviation Pilots On The Use Of Nexrad-Based Products In The Cockpit, John Lanicci, Erin Roberts, E. Blickensderfer

John M Lanicci

Numerous studies over the years have documented the need to improve meteorological education and training for General Aviation (GA) pilots. With the advent of readily available aviation weather hazard products for real-time pilot use on the flight deck, there is now a lack of education and training on the proper interpretation and usage of these products. Data-linked NEXRAD is a good example of a currently available real-time product that is very popular in the GA community, but lacks a coherent understanding of its proper usage in pre-flight planning and in-flight operation.

Proper usage of NEXRAD in the cockpit should require …