COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF MEASURED AND CALCULATED WIND SHEAR ON AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS IN SAM MBAKWE AIRPORT, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examined the relative effects of wind shear characteristics and its relationship with aircraft operations using Sam Mbakwe Airport, Imo State as a case study. The study discussed the differences between wind shear measured at 20m above ground level and wind shear calculated at 100m above ground level using power-law equation. Data on wind shear and aircraft operations (flight delays and cancellations) were obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) respectively. Correlation and Regression Analyses were carried out for the calculated wind shear and flight delays and cancellations. Scatter plots were used to present the observations of wind shear, flight delays and cancellations. The study revealed that wind shear increases as altitude increases. It also revealed that the calculated wind shear had weak positive relationship with flight delays and cancellations. This implies that as wind shear increases, both flight delays and cancellations also increase. The correlation between wind shear calculated at 100m AGL and flight delays and cancellations were 0.193 and 0.394 respectively, showing that the calculated wind shear contributed to 51.3 percent and 67.3 percent of the flight delays and cancellations respectively. The regression relationship formulated was significant for the entire hypotheses because the P-values of the ANOVA were less than 0.05. Since the relationship was significant, the expressions can be used to predict the extent of flight delays and cancellations if the wind shear is known. The study therefore recommended that there should be training and retraining of the observers, meteorologists and engineers working with NIMET. By so doing, the aviation industry can be freed from the negative effects of wind shear.

KEYWORDS: Wind Shear, Characteristics, Comparative Analysis, Flight Delays, Flight Cancellations.