Most thunderstorm-related accidents happen when departing or approaching the airport. Flying near the convective cloud bases exposes you to the most dangerous aspects of a thunderstorm. Reduced visibility, low ceilings, hail, strong straight-line winds and lightning are all possibilities, but more imperceptible hazards lurk.
Thunderstorm-related accidents commonly occur during airport departure or approach, exposing aircraft to both visible and imperceptible hazards near convective cloud bases.
All thunderstorms generate outflow boundaries (gust fronts) during their life cycle, which can be extremely hazardous and are often difficult to see.
Dangerous microbursts can drop from seemingly benign, high-based thunderstorms in dry environments, producing intense, localized, hurricane-force winds even when avoiding larger storm cells.
Most thunderstorm-related accidents happen when departing or approaching the airport. Flying near the convective cloud bases exposes you to the most dangerous aspects of a thunderstorm. Reduced visibility, low ceilings, hail, strong straight-line winds and lightning are all possibilities, but more imperceptible hazards lurk.
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