The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a safety alert warning pilots of potentially misleading age indications of NEXRAD weather radar images displayed in the cockpit. Misinterpreting or ignoring the significance of the time stamp has led to fatal accidents.
The cockpit display of NEXRAD mosaic radar images is created by weather service providers using data collected from various NEXRAD ground sites. The age indicator associated with the cockpit display does not show the age of the actual weather conditions as detected by the NEXRAD sites, but instead shows the age of the mosaic image created by the service provider.
Weather conditions depicted on the mosaic image will always be older than the age indicated on the display. The NTSB warns that in some extreme situations, the actual age of the displayed radar mosaic could reach 15 to 20 minutes, and severe weather can move and change dramatically in that period. A good rule of thumb is to add 10 minutes to the time stamp on the NEXRAD image displayed in the cockpit, and assume that is the age of the actual radar returns.
To read the full NTSB discussion, go to Click here to read more
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