Questions raised over Singapore Airlines’ weather radar system after turbulence chaos on flight from London
Questions have been raised regarding the weather radar system used on the turbulent Singapore Airlines flight – with some claiming there are “known issues” with the model.
It is unclear which system was in use but it is known this make of aircraft has previously used the Honeywell RDR-4000 weather radar.
It was first used in 2006 and was said to provide less signal loss and better turbulence detection.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.However, an accident report by the Dutch Safety Board revealed an aircraft operated by Dutch airline Transavia in 2016 encountered unexpected turbulence flying from Amsterdam to Spain, resulting in “serious injury” to three cabin crew.
The Honeywell RDR-4000 radar was being used on the flight.
The report stated that soon after the system was deployed across the fleet in 2009, the airline’s flight operations department “started receiving questions about the RDR-4000 and complaints regarding the (in)correct functioning of the weather radar”.
Honeywell provided an update in 2011 that it said “solved many of the outstanding issues”.
The report stated there was no indication the radar did not function properly during the Transavia flight.
Honeywell and Singapore Airlines have been contacted for comment.
