A Bumpy Ride

    An aircraft's flight normally is under at least one or two hazards, due to the weather being very unpredictable and subject to change by even the most minute variation. However, none is more dangerous than Density Altitude for one simple reason, dealing with it requires intuition and is always changing at any given moment. For context, density altitude is the equivalent density of air a higher or lower altitude would experience; caused by many factors, but mainly moisture and temperature. Even the smallest change can drastically change how the aircraft will perform and, if the pilot does not know these conditions to exact and how to respond, an accident can occur.

For starters, why is this so important, well Density Altitude will indicate a lot of factors:

• Fuel efficiency
• Landing and takeoff difficulty
• Reduced Rate of Climb

    

Now I would like to give some examples of crashes that were all concluded to be caused, in part, to a lack of knowledge of density altitude

• Witnesses saw a Piper J4A bank steeply to the right, pitch nose-down, and contact the ground on June 8, 1997, during the initial rise following take-off from Ponsonby, Ontario. The pilot died as a result of his injuries, while the passenger died as a result of his injuries. The plane was completely destroyed by fire.
• A Cessna 337 on fire patrol out of Nelson, BC, flew low into a valley, began a steep left turn, and crashed into the slope on August 3, 1997. The plane was destroyed on impact, and both occupants died as a result of their injuries.
• A Cessna 180E entered a left-hand, steeply banked ascending turn over McIvor Lake on June 13, 2000, about five miles north-west of Campbell River, BC. The aircraft's nose fell sharply during the turn, and it descended in a near-vertical, somewhat left-wing-low attitude to strike the shoreline. The three people perished as a result of the collision. Significant damage was done to the plane.

All of these could have been avoided if proper precautions were taken. It is of note that there is specific careers that decide whether or not a flight can take hold and are responsible for keeping up with weather conditions. However, pilots should understand how an aircraft "feels" when in these conditions by partaking in controlled safe flights in hot humid air.

Air, P. (n.d.). Density altitude. CFI Insights - Density Altitude. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from http://principalair.ca/article-density_altitude.htm

Density Altitude - FAA - FAASTeam - Faasafety.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2022, from https://www.faasafety.gov/files/gslac/library/documents/2011/Aug/56396/FAA%20P-8740-02%20DensityAltitude[hi-res]%20branded.pdf

US Department of Commerce, N. O. A. A. (2016, September 22). Safety_da. safety_da. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.weather.gov/zme/safety_da