UK investigators have highlighted the benefit of access to real-time weather apps, after a turbulence incident south of Greenland involving a British Airways Airbus A380.
The aircraft (G-XLEI) had been cruising at 39,000ft during a service from Los Angeles to London Heathrow on 6 December 2024.
According to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch, pre-departure briefing documents provided to the crew contained no significant weather warnings for the route.
But the crew had access to a live weather app, via the electronic flightbag, which updated through the aircraft’s wifi.
“From that, the crew became aware of a forecasted area of potentially severe turbulence developing,” says the inquiry.
As the aircraft approached this area the captain switched on the passenger seatbelt signs and asked cabin crew to secure equipment and take their seats.
Some 20min later the aircraft encountered turbulence – perceived by the crew as “light to moderate” – which lasted about 10-15s.
One of the flight attendants fell while preparing to take her seat on the lower deck, fracturing her ankle, and a passenger on the upper deck also suffered a broken ankle while returning from the lavatory.
The inquiry says that the crew’s weather app receives real-time eddy-dissipation rate information via a global data exchange.
Based on the app data, the crew had opted to follow ‘anticipated turbulence’ procedures – and although two occupants were injured, “more people may have been affected” if the seatbelt signs had remained off, says the inquiry.
“Given that pre-flight weather charts give a widespread picture of potential turbulence conditions, this type of event highlights the benefits of live weather app technology in giving localised, real-time turbulence information to crew,” it adds.
It also points out that the crew had contacted the ground-based medical support system MedLink which enabled the cabin crew to use on-board materials to create splints for those injured, as well as treat a passenger who had separately lost consciousness after becoming unwell.
Although the captain had considered a diversion to Gander airport or Reykjavik’s Keflavik airport, weather and runway conditions were thought unsuitable and – after discussions with MedLink – the crew proceeded to Heathrow.
