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View from the cockpit

THE CONCURRENCE of Wake Turbulence soon after the crash of an American Airlines flight in the US established after the investigators examined the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), the incident has generated a lot of interest among the line-pilots globally and more so in India.

Be it the Boeing commanders of Jet Airways and Airbus pilots of Indian Airlines, the dangers of `wake turbulence' have been debated at length during the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) meetings.

Delving on the subject, Capt. E. Chandrasekhar, a senior Airbus-300 Commander and check pilot of Indian Airlines, said during his frequent sorties to Singapore, he has encountered similar incidents while taking off from Singapore Changi airport.

"Minutes after a 737 jet took off, at about 1,500 ft, our aircraft almost went out of control, but we brought the aircraft to control with the help of inbuilt support systems. And going by history, even Jumbo jet pilots avoid to take off after the Boeing-757s departures", pointed out Capt, Chandrasekhar, who has time and again encountered this weather phenomenon on the Singapore sector.

These mid-air weird weather phenomenona have always attracted a lot of attention among line pilots as case by case, the degree and intensity of turbulence varied. These case studies could be translated into a booklet form to help pilots' community.

T.S. Shankar

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