Last year, nearly 700,000 commercial takeoffs and landings in the U.S. were at risk. The danger is clear air turbulence. These natural phenomena, including wake vortex, wind shear, microburst, gust front, and crosswind have generated well-known aviation disasters.

Between 1964 and 1985, wind shear directly caused or contributed to 26 major civil transport aircraft accidents in the U.S. that led to 620 deaths and 200 injuries. In 1985, a Delta flight crashed at the Dallas Ft. Worth Airport killing 26 passengers on board—again, as a result of wind shear. Wind shear caused the devastating USAir crash in Charlotte, North Carolina July 2, 1994. A US Air DC-9 crashed into trees and a residence after a missed approach at Charlotte, North Carolina. The crew's failure to recognize a wind shear situation in a timely manner was listed as the cause. Thirty-seven of 57 aboard were killed. Charlotte and Dallas Ft. Worth are still not protected against a repeat of these clear air turbulence accidents.

Safety-related initiatives subsequently implemented resulted in an improved record; however, according to Boeing, wind shear was the seventh most common cause of fatal jet accidents worldwide during the past 10 years. A capture shot of accidents reported on the National Transportation Safety Board’s database for a 35-day period, ending November 2006, showed 5 accidents attributed to the inability of the pilot to adequately access wind turbulence.

Heliport accidents are more common than those involving fixed wing aircraft, but the number of people involved is inherently much smaller. For example, the FAA indicated that wind gusts contributed to the November 2006 crash of a World Jet-owned UH-1 helicopter near Lubbock, TX while en route to Albuquerque. The pilot and passenger were injured. During the same 35-day period referenced above, 6 out of 25 reported accidents involving helicopters (reported by the National Transportation Safety Board), were attributed to wind-generated conditions. Many more military helicopter accidents occur than in the commercial space.

The LaLuz Profiler technology will identify clear air turbulence and can help prevent accidents such as these.