The former Director, Weather Services, Nigeria Meteorological Agency(NIMET),Chief Thaddeus Obidike has said that statistics has shown that over 40 per cent of air accidents and incidents are weather related .
This is just as he posited that weather information is very crucial to aviation safety.
He said this while presenting a paper titled, “Aviation Weather Hazard and Aircraft Accident and Incident” at an aviation forum with the theme, ”Sustaining Safety in the Nigerian Aviation Sector” organised by Aeroconsult in Lagos .
According to him, “statistics has shown that over 40 per cent of aviation accidents and incidents are weather related. Aviation safety therefore cannot be discussed effectively without proper focus on weather information, which includes weather reports, weather forecasts, and early warning of impending weather hazards.
Weather, he said is known to affect every phase of flight operation, including take-off and climb out, cruising, maneuvering and landing phase but however pointed out that jet aircraft, especially those on long-distance flights cruise at altitudes in the upper layer and lower stratosphere, where to a large extent they are above the active weather zone.
