Prevent Volcanic Ash Damage To Aircraft
Advanced Early Warning Technology
http://news.discovery.com/tech/airplanes-to-test-volcanic-ash-detectors.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_ash
Ash detectors are fairly new instruments designed to combat the hazard of flying through volcanic ash. These systems utilize infrared cameras which are attached to the tail wings of aircraft. The technology not only lets jumbo jets detect volcanic ash clouds over 60 miles away, but also communicates with ground based computers to provide three dimensional mapping of clouds so air traffic control can guide other planes safely through these hidden hazards. Developed at the NILU (Norway Institute for Air Research) the system is known as AVOID, which stands for the airborne volcanic object identifier and detector.
Why install an ash detector on a jumbojet? Until the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland, the hazards of volcanic ash were not as well known to the general public, but they had been known to pilots for years. The airborne particles of ash are essentially a powdered glass, which can melt inside a jet engine and get caught on turbofan blades. This material can also cause extensive wear on jet engine parts, or even cause all the engines to stop in midair! There are two recorded instances where this has happened on passenger aircraft, and after significant altitude loss, pilots were able to restart engines. Ash detectors would prevent this kind of thing from happening, and at the same time could allow for air traffic instead of creating the long ground delays that were seen in Europe in 2010.
Notes and Special Information
Special note: Ash detector specifications may change as technology improves.