TSB Recommendation A07-01

In its response, Transport Canada states it will consider this recommendation in consultation with other international aviation authorities with a view to harmonizing any regulatory initiatives that may result from this recommendation. In addition, Transport Canada is preparing an Issue Paper on this subject, to be presented at the next International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standard and Recommended Procedures working group meeting in Montreal, scheduled for summer 2008.

In the short term, Transport Canada will consider issuing an Advisory Circular (AC) that will discuss the hazards associated with flight operations in or near convective weather conditions. This AC would recommend that Canadian air operators include specific procedures in their company operations manual that would guide flight crewmembers in alerting the crew of the current weather and associated hazards, as well as to provide guidance in decision-making when faced with flight through or landing in such weather conditions.

Although Transport Canada does not specifically state that it fully supports this recommendation, it intends to conduct consultations with international authorities to harmonize an action plan. In addition, it is preparing an Issue Paper, to be presented at the upcoming International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standard and Recommended Procedures working group meeting. Transport Canada is also considering issuing an Advisory Circular (AC) to Canadian air operators that will discuss the hazards associated with flight operations in ornear convective weather conditions.

This response is a positive indication that Transport Canada believes that more needs to be done, both internationally as well as on the home front, to reduce the risk identified in this recommendation. However, the Board is concerned that in the short term, and until more stringent standards are established in this country, the risk will remain. A recent B-737 serious incident at the Ottawa airport, as well as many accidents around the world since the Air France accident, at times with a high casualty result, is a grim reminder of this fact.

Therefore, Transport Canada’s response to Recommendation A07-01 is assessed as Satisfactory Intent.

TC’s response states that it published Advisory Circular 705-005 entitled Approach and Landing During Convective Weather Conditions on 5 March 2009. It indicates that the target audience is 705 air operators.

Additionally, the 3/2009 issue of TC’s Aviation Safety Letter contained an article entitled Flight in the Vicinity of Convective Weather. The response indicates that it was a general information article targeted at both the industry as a whole and general aviation.

The issue of landing accidents and runway overruns is on the Board's Watchlist. TC’s response indicates it has taken positive steps to raise awareness amongst Canadian operators and pilots with respect to the subject of approaches and landings in convective weather. However, its current response does not provide any evidence of consultations with other regulatory authorities or any follow through on the commitment to raise the issue at the 2009 ICAO Standard and Recommended Procedures working group meeting. The Board is concerned that until TC establishes clear standards to mitigate the risks identified in Recommendation A07-01, the risk will remain.

TC’s action taken to date will not substantially reduce or eliminate the safety deficiency.

Therefore the Board assesses TC's response as Satisfactory in Part.

TC’s response states that an Issue Paper was presented by TC to the ICAO Operations Panel meeting of the working group in Montreal on November 3, 2010.

Panel members emphasized that while the issue of convective weather was of importance, the move to a “limit” for all aircraft operations at Canadian airports would have significant implications on safety beyond the borders of Canada. It was agreed that the issue was worthy of consideration by ICAO but Canada should not act alone in developing a strategy to address the issue.

It was agreed that the ICAO Secretariat would place the issue on its work plan to be dealt with at a future date. However, given the volume of work currently being undertaken by the Panel, any revisit of this issue could be two years or more away.

The previous action by TC to raise the awareness of Canadian operators regarding flight in convective weather partially addressed the safety deficiency highlighted by the Recommendation A07-01. TC has initiated international discussion on the issue, but the time schedule in dealing with the issue through the ICAO Operations Panel will delay the mitigation of the safety deficiency.

Therefore, the Board assesses TC’s response as Satisfactory in Part.

No change.

A cross reference is to be made on recommendations residing in CRM (A09-02, A07-03, A07-05, A00-06).

The previous action by TC to raise the awareness of Canadian operators regarding flight in convective weather partially addressed the safety deficiency highlighted by the Recommendation A07-01. TC has initiated international discussion on the issue, but the time schedule in dealing with the issue through the ICAO Operations Panel will delay the mitigation of the safety deficiency.

Therefore, the Board assesses TC’s response as Satisfactory in Part.

TSB Recommendation A07-01 will not be addressed by the development of a contemporary CRM training standard.

In response to Rec. A07-01, TCCA presented an issue paper to ICAO in November 2010, 1) it was agreed that Canada should not act alone in developing a strategy to address the issue, 2) the ICAO Secretariat agreed to place the issue on the work plan to be dealt with at a future date. TCCA will support ICAO in this initiative as a long term plan; however, we do not expect activity to begin within the next 2 years.

TC has initiated contact with international counterparts to explore opportunities for harmonization and participate internationally in the advancement of these standards.

In the interim, the Standards Branch will evaluate the effectiveness of an Advisory Circular issued some years ago which provides guidance on the hazards associated with flight operations in or near convective weather conditions.

The Board again highlights the slow progress in establishing standards to mitigate the risks identified in Recommendation A07-01. On 21 January 2011, TC had indicated that, given the volume of work currently being undertaken by the ICAO Operations Panel, any revisit of this issue could be 2 years or more away. On 4 December 2012, 22 months later, TC reiterates that it will support ICAO in this initiative as a long-term plan; however, it does not expect activity to begin within the next 2 years. While TC did present an issue paper to the ICAO Operations Panel in November 2010, and has indicated that it will support ICAO in developing a strategy to address the issue, to this date it appears that no clear timeline has been established for this project. Until improved standards are in place, the risks will remain.

The response remains as Satisfactory in Part.

In 2009, Transport Canada published Advisory Circular 705-005: Approach and Landing in Convective Weather Conditions, which provides information about limitations for approaches and landings in adverse weather conditions. The Department will continue to evaluate the content of Advisory Circular 705-005 as new information becomes available.

No additional regulatory or advisory material is planned at this time.

Transport Canada’s previous action of publishing Advisory Circular 705-005 only partially addressed TSB Recommendation A07-01. The TSB is disappointed that no further action is planned by TC, and that without improved standards, the risks identified in Recommendation A07-01 will remain.

The response remains as Satisfactory in Part.

In light of a recent occurrence^{Footnote 1}, the Board has reactivated this recommendation and will be requesting an update from TC in order to complete a reassessment in the coming months.

Transport Canada (TC) officials have considered the re-activation and do not agree with this approach to dealing with the risks associated with approaches and landings in convective weather.

As previously communicated to the Board, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) assembled a consortium of aviation specialists from Boeing, United Airlines, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed Martin, Aviation Weather Associates, and Heliwell to study windshear.

These experts and the FAA concluded that:

unfortunately, there are no universal quantitative windshear avoidance criteria that provide unambiguous go/no-go decision guidelines. There is no assured detection and warning system in operation which can measure windshear intensity along a specific flight path.

This conclusion was published in FAA Advisory Circular No. 00-54, Pilot Windshear Guide, 11/25/88. TC agrees with the FAA and has published safety educational and promotional material to inform the industry of the risks associated with approaches and landings in convective weather. TC has also raised the issue to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ICAO Secretariat agreed to place the issue on its work plan. ICAO also agreed that Canada should not act alone on this issue.

TC will monitor scientific and technological developments related to it and will support international harmonization efforts when the issue gains active status at ICAO. However, in the short term, TC has no plans to redirect resources from higher priority safety concerns.

In its response, TC states that it agrees with the conclusion published in the FAA Advisory Circular No. 00-54, dated from 1988, that there are no universal quantitative windshear avoidance criteria that provide unambiguous go/no-go decision guidelines, and that there is no assured detection and warning system in operation which can measure windshear intensity along a specific flight path. TC states that it will monitor scientific and technological developments and will support international harmonization efforts when the issue gains active status at ICAO. However, in the short term, TC has no plans to redirect resources from higher priority safety concerns.

Although the TSB agrees with the FAA Advisory Circular No. 00-54, windshear is not the only risk associated with approaches and landings in convective weather. Other risks include:

• low ceiling and poor visibility due to intense precipitation below the thunderstorm cloud, which often seriously limits visibility from the cockpit;
• rapid changes in surface pressure that can lead to altitude errors;
• lightning, which increases in frequency proportionally to the storm’s intensity and which also affects visibility;
• hail, both within and outside the cloud;
• rapid changes in wind speed and direction, which may quickly and suddenly exceed an aircraft’s crosswind or other limits;
• potentially damaging wind gusts;
• downdrafts due to microbursts;
• contaminated runway surfaces in rain and/or hail;
• turbulence; and
• difficulty in conducting a missed approach safely.

In addressing Recommendation A07-01, TC should take into consideration all risks associated with approaches and landings in convective weather.

TC’s previous action of publishing Advisory Circular 705-005 only partially addressed TSB Recommendation A07-01. While TC did present an issue paper to the ICAO Operations Panel in November 2010, and the ICAO Secretariat agreed to place the issue on its work plan, to this date, it appears that no clear timeline has been established for this project.

The TSB is disappointed by the slow progress in establishing standards to mitigate the risks identified in Recommendation A07-01, and that no further action is planned by TC. Until improved standards are in place, the risks identified by Recommendation A07-01 will remain.

Therefore, the Board considers TC’s response to Recommendation A07-01 to be Satisfactory in Part.

TC agrees with the intent of the recommendation.

However, the scientific [sic] and technology regarding convective weather has not advanced. As a result, TC will evaluate what action is possible when scientific and technological developments in area of limiting approaches and landings in convective weather become available.

In its response, Transport Canada (TC) states that it agrees with the intent of the recommendation and will evaluate what action is possible when scientific and technological developments in the area of limiting approaches and landings in convective weather become available.

While TC did present an issue paper to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Operations Panel in November 2010, and the ICAO Secretariat agreed to place the issue on its work plan, to date, no timeline has been established for this project. The TSB believes that, although an agreement was made with ICAO that Canada should not act alone in developing a strategy to address the issue, the intent of the agreement was likely to encourage other ICAO members to help Canada find a solution, and not for Canada to stop working on the issue until it is added to the ICAO Standards and Recommended Procedures working group agenda.

As stated in the July 2017 reassessment, the TSB agrees with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular No. 00‑54; however, windshear is not the only risk associated with approaches and landings in convective weather. The TSB believes TC should take into consideration all the risks associated with approaches and landings in convective weather and start working on establishing clear standards limiting approaches and landings in convective weather.

This recommendation was issued over 11 years ago. The Board is concerned with the protracted delays in addressing the safety deficiency identified in Recommendation A07-01. Until all the risks associated with approaches and landings in convective weather are taken into consideration and clear standards limiting approaches and landings in convective weather for all air transport operators at Canadian airports are in place, the risks associated with the safety deficiency identified in Recommendation A07-01 remain.

Therefore, the response to Recommendation A07-01 is assessed as Unsatisfactory.

TC agrees with the intent of Recommendation A07-01.

As noted in previous updates related to this recommendation, TC presented an issue paper to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in November 2010. It was then agreed that Canada should not act alone in developing a strategy to address the issue and that the ICAO Secretariat will place the issue on the work plan to be dealt with at a future date. ICAO have yet to provide clear timelines on when this will be completed.

TC will support ICAO in this global initiative as a long-term plan. TC will also evaluate what action is possible when scientific and technological developments in area of limiting approaches and landings in convective weather become available. At this time, TC has no additional information to provide related to international efforts on this issue.

In the meantime, TC has multiple measures in place that mitigate the risks of approaches and landings during periods of convective weather. These measures are outlined below.

CARs

Current CARs (705.70)^{Footnote 2} require aircraft operating with passengers on board in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) when current weather reports or forecasts indicate that thunderstorms may reasonably be expected, must be equipped with weather radar equipment. The CARs further require flight crews to be trained on all equipment on board the aircraft, including weather radar systems.

Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM)

In TC’s AIM Airmanship^{Footnote 3} section, there is an emphasis on the fact that “avoiding thunderstorms is the best policy” and it provides considerations (2.7.2) for flight operations near thunderstorms.

Advisory Circular (AC) 705-005 — Approach and Landing During Convective Weather Conditions

Following Transportation Safety Board (TSB) Recommendation A07-01, TC published AC 705-005^{Footnote 4} in 2009, where it stated that air operators have a responsibility to provide adequate information and instructions in the Company Operations Manual (COM) so that flight crew members and dispatchers can perform their duties to the highest level of safety possible, as required by subsections 703.105(1), 704.121(1) and 705.135(1)of the CARs. This includes information and guidance with regards to the hazards of flight operations in the vicinity of convective weather activity. The onus is then on the flight crew members to make sound decisions when faced with landing in convective weather activity using the information provided to them.

Also, Subpart 703, 704 and 705 operators are required to have limitations on severe weather avoidance on take-off and landings. These regulated limitations are an integral part of the COM and its content, and specifically address operations in hazardous conditions such as icing, thunderstorms, white-out, wind shear (CARs 723.105 (1) and (2)^{Footnote 5}, 724.121^{Footnote 6} and 725.135^{Footnote 7}) and are in line with AC 705-005.

Advisory Circular (AC) 700-042 — Crew Resources Management (CRM)

In January 2019, TC published AC 700-042^{Footnote 8} to improve the CRM knowledge and skills of commercial crew members engaged in a commercial air service and to reduce the frequency and severity of errors that are crew based. The expected reduction in the frequency of accidents and incidents within the scope of commercial flight operations will provide an enhanced level of aviation safety.