The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) should provide its aviation weather forecasters with formal training on forecasting low-level turbulence, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a safety recommendation report that cites the fatal 2017 crash of a Pilatus PC-12.
The report, adopted by the NTSB earlier this month and announced Thursday, said that the NTSB’s ongoing investigation of the accident raised concerns that, although low-level turbulence may have existed in the accident area around the time of the accident, “there were no airmen’s meteorological information (AIRMET) advisories active for turbulence below 10,000 ft at the accident location at the accident time.”
The report added that NWS Aviation Weather Center (AWC) forecasters “may have varying professional criteria for issuing advisories for turbulence (like AIRMETs) when convective significant meteo…
