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Aviation vocabulary · Aviation Weather

Wind shear

Meaning in aviation, with examples

nounCommon term

In aviation, wind shear means: A sudden change in wind speed or direction over a short distance, which can make an aircraft quickly lose speed and height close to the ground.

In Turkish: rüzgar kırılması, rüzgar kesmesi

How it is used

Most dangerous during takeoff and approach, often near thunderstorms (microbursts). Many aircraft have a windshear warning, and crews fly a trained escape manoeuvre. Pilots report it: 'wind shear on final, loss of 15 knots'.

Example sentences

  1. We encountered wind shear at 500 feet and lost almost 20 knots.

  2. The tower is reporting wind shear on final approach to runway 23.

Common collocations

  • windshear warning
  • encounter wind shear
  • low-level wind shear
  • wind shear report
  • cumulonimbusA very tall, dense thunderstorm cloud that can bring lightning, hail, heavy rain, severe turbulence, icing and wind shear. Pilots avoid flying into it.
  • go-aroundA manoeuvre in which the pilots stop an approach, add power and climb away instead of landing, usually to try again or to go to another airport.
  • turbulenceIrregular, often sudden movement of the air that makes an aircraft bump, shake or drop. It is usually reported as light, moderate or severe.
  • approachThe phase of flight after the descent in which an aircraft is guided towards the runway it will land on, usually following a published procedure.

More terms: Aviation Weather

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