AIM

8/15/19

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50

Meteorology

FIG 7

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15

LLWAS Siting Criteria

(c)

The early detection of a wind shear/mi-

cro

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burst event, and the subsequent warning(s)

issued to an aircraft on approach or departure, will
alert the pilot/crew to the potential of, and to be
prepared for, a situation that could become very
dangerous! Without these warnings, the aircraft may
NOT be able to climb out of, or safely transition, the
event, resulting in a catastrophe. The air carriers,
working with the FAA, have developed specialized
training programs using their simulators to train and
prepare their pilots on the demanding aircraft
procedures required to escape these very dangerous
wind shear and/or microburst encounters.

2. Low Level Wind Shear Alert System

(LLWAS).

(a)

The LLWAS provides wind data and

software processes to detect the presence of
hazardous wind shear and microbursts in the vicinity
of an airport. Wind sensors, mounted on poles
sometimes as high as 150 feet, are (ideally) located
2,000 

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 3,500 feet, but not more than 5,000 feet, from

the centerline of the runway. (See FIG 7

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15.)