Climatology of Estimated Altimeter Error due to Nonstandard Temperatures

Abstract

AbstractGeneral aviation (GA) accidents involving controlled flight into terrain often occur when pilots are unaware that their aircraft’s true altitude is lower than the altitude indicated by the pressure altimeter as a result of colder-than-standard temperatures. However, little guidance is available that quantifies the magnitude of these altimeter errors and their variation with season. In this study, the fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric reanalysis of the global climate (ERA5) dataset is combined with the pressure–altitude equation to construct a 30-yr monthly climatology, covering much of the United States and Canada, of D value (i.e., true altitude minus pressure altitude) corrected for the standard-atmosphere height separation between the altimeter setting and standard mean sea level pressure. This “corrected” D value therefore provides a useful estimate of the error between true and altimeter-indicated altitude. During winter, the mean corrected D values reach values as low as −350 m (~−1200 ft) in northern, low-terrain regions for flights near a pressure altitude of 3600 m, meaning the aircraft would be nearly 350 m lower than the altimeter indicates. Furthermore, the minimum (i.e., maximum negative) corrected D values are nearly double their mean values for the same time period. In addition, the reanalysis-based corrected D values are compared with estimated values calculated using a simple rule of thumb that is based solely on the air temperature at altitude and the surface elevation. The rule of thumb tends to underpredict the magnitude of the estimated error, in some cases by 70 m (~200 ft), and therefore gives a lower margin of safety.