Weather conditions and air freight

Weather conditions are an important factor for the safe flight of cargo planes. They are also called meteorological minima, a term used strictly in aviation. Permission to fly is given if all the indicators that make up this minimum meet the standards.

The meteorological minimum includes:

Wind direction and speed;
Maximum and minimum visibility;
The minimum values of the height of the lower edge of the clouds;
Runway conditions.

These indicators tell you how safe the takeoff, landing and route will be. Therefore the information about meteominimum is analyzed both at the point of departure and at the place of aircraft arrival. It is worth noting that there are no backup airport options in the cargo flight program, so the weather conditions at the point of arrival are studied particularly carefully before the flight.

The Three Components of a Weather Minimus

Years of flying practice have made it possible to develop universal international meteorological minima. These take into account:

The characteristics of the aircraft;
The capacity of the airport of acceptance;
Crew training.

Three varieties of weather minima for cargo shipments
Aircraft.
Aircraft minimums are all possible weather conditions that are not hazardous for each type and make of aircraft. These characteristics are laid down in the machine by the manufacturer. It is also used by air traffic control when analyzing the safety of the flight.

For example, weather conditions in a crosswind of 40 m/sec may be quite acceptable for one type of aircraft and dangerous for lighter machines whose departure restrictions, as determined by the manufacturer, start with a wind speed of 25 m/sec.

Airport
The airport minimum is the condition of the runway at each, individual airport. It is determined by the equipment that is installed on the runway, including lighting and radar. It also takes into account the terrain, where there may be natural or artificial obstacles.

Landing will not be allowed, if, for example, the visibility with lights on ensures visibility of several kilometers, but fell fog or drizzling rain reduced visibility to a few hundred meters.

Crew
The minimum of a crew is its professionalism and the pilots’ authorization to fly in certain weather conditions. Every pilot masters a minimum flight training program, but top-class pilots receive additional training to improve their qualifications and obtain the minimum that will allow them to fly in more difficult weather conditions.

If a crew does not have this training, they may be prohibited from flying in certain weather conditions. For example, side wind speed of 40 m/s, with possible increase on the runway.

All of these indicators constitute the concept of in-flight weather for each aircraft and crew individually. When deciding on departure or landing, the degree of that minimum, which in the given conditions is the worst, is taken into account. The crew minimum is always taken into account.

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