Bad weather... perhaps one of the scariest aspect of flying! Let's discover together something more on how it is dealt with.
ICING
Ice accumulation on an aircraft might create problems, as it will make the whole structure heavier, and also because, by covering the wings and the tail plane, it could modify their aerodynamic features, thus the capability of sustaining and controlling the airplane in flight.
When icy conditions are forecasted, the so called "de-icing procedures" will take place prior to departure:
right before takeoff, the airplane stops on a dedicated spot, where it gets sprayed with special liquids with the double purpose to both remove any ice accumulation over the wings and tail, and to prevent further ice formation once airborne.
The effectiveness of such procedure is limited in time, but all it has to do is protect the aircraft during takeoff and climb phases only. This is because once the airplane is up to cruise level and speed, ice formation is not possible anymore, unless it enters big storms. Which, of course, is absolutely avoided!
As a further means of protection against icing, every airplane is equipped with ice-detecting sensors, as well as anti-ice systems that, when needed, heat up the most sensitive parts of the aircraft: the wing's leading edge and the engines cowlings, as well as the propellers' leading edges in propeller aircrafts.
The cockpit windshield is constantly heated.
Ok, nice... but how can thunderstorms be avoided, when flying at night or inside the clouds?
THE WEATHER RADAR
All commercial airplanes are equipped with a weather radar, a device capable of detecting the most severe weather conditions, up to hundreds of miles ahead, and show them to pilots on an electronic map in the form of differently colored shapes, depending on the thunderstorm intensity.
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By interpreting these images, pilots have plenty of time to modify the routing in order to avoid the most "active" zones.
CLOUDS
Not all clouds are alike!
In generale, flying inside the clouds is not a problem, unless they are thunderstorm clouds, the so called "cumulonimbus", or "CBs".
Inside CBs there is a huge quantity of energy, in the form of ice, lightnings and extremely strong wind drafts... A perfect combination of things that could seriously damage an aircraft flying through them. That's why weather radar and its interpretation are soooo important!
RAIN
Rain does not constitute a problem at all, except reducing the aircraft performances during takeoff and landing (a bit like a car travelling on a wet street). In case of rain, there are appropriate procedures that will factor in these limitations and maintain a high margin of safety.
LIGHTNINGS
See this post.
HURRICANES/TYPHOONS
They are usually encountered in tropical areas of the planet, near the Equator. Obviously, they have to be absolutely avoided, and this is done since the early stages of the flight planning, by computing a route that lies well away from them!
TURBULENCE
See this post.
FOG
See this post.
STRONG WINDS
See this post.
WINDSHEAR
The phenomenon of windshear constitutes a rather sneaky danger for takeoff and landing phases, and for this reason it is treated with extreme caution.
In easy words, windshear is a sudden variation in wind intensity and/or direction, usually caused by the presence of mountains or thunderstorms in the vicinity.
Flying through an area of windshear during takeoff or landing is dangerous because it could influence the aerodynamic equilibrium of the aircraft, up to the point of making it stall (see here).
Fortunately, it is now possible to forecast with great accuracy the presence of windshear in the vicinity of airports, taking into consideration the orography of the area and the metereological conditions.
Once again, technology gives us an helping hand, with special equipment, on the ground and on board the aircraft, capable of alerting the pilots of the imminent presence of windshear, so that they can timely react by applying specific procedures to safely deal with it.
