Why are so many planes grounded in England because of fog when they travel in the dark of night all the time?D

Question

Do n't they have a radar system or some similar device for when visibility is poor?

Answer 1

It's because the controllers can't see the planes on the ground and could cause a collision if they accidentally told a plane that they thought was somewhere on the apron which had moved a bit and suddenly - BANG!
Yes, we all know that planes can take off and land automatically, but that's only good if the ground is clear, and if the ground has to be monitored by radar instead of by eye, that's where the delay starts and the cancellations arise as a result.

Answer 2

Yes SOME aircraft have blind landing radar systems that allow an automatic approach. However at the last minute when the aircraft is flying at say 50 feet and 150 mph it's a good thing if the pilot can see the ground ahead. Also some of the problems are with manoeuvring the aircraft on the ground. The pilot could be 30 feet above the ground, so with 50 foot visibility he/she can't really see much

Answer 3

Maybe its because when they line up at the end of the runway they need to travel at least several hundred metres to get enough sped to takeoff and if they are not lined up prefectly then the last couple of hundred metres will probably be on the grass.
Compasses are not accurate to minutes of a degree

But as mentioned by most answers lights work ok in the dark but not in fog Safety rules increase the gaps between aircraft and taxiing on the ground is hard if you cant see the edge of the tarmac.
Its a problem but not as big a problem as hitting another aircraft or getting lost on the way to the runway

Answer 4

The main reason for planes to be grounded in case of fog is the visibilty. Visibility in this respect has to be seperated in tow parts - horizontal visibility and vertical visibility. The most critical part is the vertical visibility, since even in case of an Instrument Landing at a certain altidue the pilot must see a certain pattern of the landing lights installed in front of the runway. If he does not see the required light pattern he has to dicontinue the approach (execute a missed approach). Further in foggy weather conditions the spacing between each aircraft is increased by Air Traffic Control for safety reasons (the pilot can not see any traffic around his/her own aircraft etc). This results in line-ups on the ground and in the air - further this results in delayed departures and so on. In basic it is a chain reaction which might result in the decission by the airlines to cancel flights.

Hope this helps a little bit! - BRGDS

Answer 5

Fog is very dangerous for the operation of aircraft (especially take-off) because a part of take-off is visually seeing the runway for some reasons. 1. The white marks on the runway (aka piano keys) tell the pilots how far they have travelled down the runway based on the amount of lines in front of them which cannot be seen in dense fog. 2. Night time is different, if visibility is medium-unlimited then it doesnt matter because the lights on a runway are visible.

Answer 6

Regardless of it being dark you can still see more than ten feet infront of you with your lights and also see other lights in fog you cannot. Whether or not we have the technology to guide us human error always occurs. Imagine being the pilot not having a clue where you are going, like closing your eyes and being guided somewhere you always recoil as if you are about to walk into something, its just not safe landing and taking off in the fog.

Answer 7

When you have fog - planes get delayed in the air or 'stacked' up
they rely on their radar beams to be able to land safely. Too many planes about means too many beams about interfering with each other. Also because planes are not taking off there is a lot of parked planes about if one come in off course. If a single plane come in and there were no others about it would be given the go ahead to land safely on auto pilot.

Answer 8

The international safety distance between stacking planes is 3
miles, when it is foggy it doubles to 6 miles. Because Heathrow
operates at 98% capacity there is no significant margin, therefore
about 40% of planes are cancelled. Less busy airports do not
suffer quite so bad.

Answer 9

Because if it is only dark, you can see the runway lights, if it is foggy as heck you cannot and no amount of radar is gonna help you when you go screaming into the concrete of the runway.

Answer 10

there are modern satellite guided and assisted landing systems.....which can help pilot to make an landing in even 0 visibility condition......more over there are radar modes also which can show whetehr there is any obstacle in front of the aircraft or nt!!!!!!!!


microwave landing system can b used.........radio designators are used...these all are modern techs and will take time to get employed at major airports!!!!!!!