Thunderstorms and Aviation Safety—A Dialogue

Barnett [Barnett, A. 1987. Lightning strikes twice. Interfaces17(2) 21–26.] described his attempt to save lives in aviation by closing all airports during thunderstorms. He discussed the phenomenon of “windshear,” which is often associated with thunderstorms and pointed out that in the last 14 years four fatal accidents to commercial airliners have been caused by this phenomenon. As I have tried to suggest, the case for suspending airport operations in thunderstorms is rooted not in emotionalism or ignorance, but in hard-headed management science. That is why I am confident that, whether immediately or shortly, whether formally or informally, some variant of the policy will come into wide-spread use.