Airport building development: Towards a framework for managing building-induced wind shear and turbulence risks

Abstract

Low-altitude wind shear and turbulence are known to be contributing factors in up to one third of aircraft approach/landing incidents. Wind shear and turbulence effects can be exacerbated when large obstacles, such as airport buildings, are located upwind from aircraft trajectories. Therefore, it is vital that airports conduct building-induced wind shear and turbulence risk assessments before commencing new airport building developments. Airports may utilise guidelines published by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) to manage building-induced wind shear and turbulence hazards. These existing guidelines are derived from studies that only consider a narrow scope, however, and thus may be inappropriate at many airports, particularly when applied to building developments in close proximity to runways utilised by small general aviation aircraft. This paper reviews the existing literature and identifies areas where future research efforts should be focused, with a view towards developing a robust framework for assessing building-induced wind shear and turbulence hazards at airports. Such a framework will have implications for airport management, as it will be vital for guiding safe airport building development while simultaneously managing the risks to aviation posed by building-induced wind shear and turbulence hazards.