Wingtip Vortices: They’re One of the Costs of Lift

Swirling columns of air slowly trail downward behind an airplane—yours included.

Jim Wolper

Friday, August 15, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Wing tip vortices exist any time an airplane’s wing is generating lift.[Courtesy: Bernal Saborio]

Key Takeaways:

Wingtip vortices are invisible, rapidly rotating air disturbances generated by any aircraft producing lift, posing a significant and often hazardous threat, especially to smaller aircraft.
These vortices are strongest when an aircraft is heavy, slow, and in a clean configuration, commonly occurring during initial climb after takeoff or during the approach phase before flaps and landing gear are extended.
Pilots must employ specific strategies to avoid them, such as adjusting their flight path relative to preceding aircraft and heeding ATC warnings, although realistic training for encountering and recovering from wake turbulence is challenging to provide.

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When people want to talk about something unpleasant, they often invent nicer-sounding phrases to disguise what’s really going on. “Wake turbulence” is the kind of term that can bring to mind vague, unpleasant imagery. “Wingtip vortices” sound nicer—more refined, perhaps—but actually may be more frightening.

The FAA’s definition in its Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK, FAA-H-8083-25C) doesn’t help much: “The rapidly rotating air that spills over an airplane’s wings during flight. The intensity of the turbulence depends on the airplane’s weight, speed, and configuration. Also referred to as wake turbulence. Vortices from heavy aircraft may be extremely hazardous to small aircraft.”