Oct 9 1986
From The Space Library
NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration signed a memorandum of agreement for a five-year, $24 million research project to study wind shear detection and avoidance that would cover technology assessment, present position sensor integration, hazard characterization, pilot factors in wind shear, and effects of heavy rain. For pilot training, an environment was created that could mirror wind shear in a flight situation, thus providing a safe simulation for training.
Microburst is the most dangerous type of wind shear for study. It is a small, intense down-draft, often accompanied by heavy rain, which, upon striking the ground, spreads out into a circular vortex radiating an all directions and leaving little time for reaction by a pilot. Between 1965 and 1985, there were at least 26 accidents and 3 incidents involving 626 fatalities and 235 injuries where wind shear was a direct cause or contributing factor. (NASA Release 86-143)
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