WEZARD · Weather hazards for aeronautics

On April 14th, 2010, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano and the accompanying cloud of volcanic ash forced most countries in northern Europe to shut their airspace, grounding more than 100,000 flights, affected an estimated 10 million travellers and had a financial impact of 5 bn US$ over a seven day period. This event revealed to what extent our society and economy rely on the availability of a safe and efficient air transport system and how fragile it remains when faced with the complexity of atmospheric conditions. WEZARD aims to support and contribute to the preparation of future community research in air transport system robustness when faced with weather hazards. It will focus on hazards which can be spread over large areas such as volcanic ash clouds or severe atmospheric conditions including icing. The WEZARD consortium will 1/ take stock of the current knowledge of weather hazards affecting airframes, engines and systems and identify the needed technology and capability developments pathways, 2/ compile knowledge on the collection, processing and communication of meteorological data and investigate what research is needed on observation, forecasting tools, data assimilation and broadcasting, 3/ investigate the existing and needed safety standards and procedures, 4/ model the capacity of the scientific community to better understand, observe and simulate hazardous particles. These activities will result in a R&D roadmap identifying research gaps and priorities and providing recommendations to the main stakeholders of the aeronautical community. The WEZARD consortium will consist of 3 airframers, 2 engine manufacturers, 1 system supplier, 1 network of meteorological offices, 4 research centres, 1 provider of test facilities and 1 civil aviation authority over 2 years. An Advisory Board gathering a panel of international experts in relevant domains will be set up to provide advice on the vision, priorities and directions proposed by the project.