Microburst alert question for Lynx
 

What is your procedure when a microburts is issued? How long must you stay on the ground before taking off?

I am asking because of the microbursts alerts issued out of Denver couple weeks ago and watching a Lynx plane takeoff on Runway 08 in the middle of the alerts.

Also to be fair, a United, SouthWest, and Frontier used Runway 08 for departure during the alerts. Everyone else on Tower freq declined to take off on Runway 08 or 17R and 17L.

Thank you.

LOL, You're assuming we had a policy?

As long as it is clear, we are allowed to takeoff, if I remember. Considering microbursts seldom last longer than 15 minutes, I kind of doubt they were persisting for the full hour. Either way the aircraft can handle quite a bit, climbs like a rocket, can also land and takeoff with a 20 knot tailwind, so it has a very wide operating range as far as approach speeds go. Sadly however, it has no windshear detection equipment. See no evil, hear no evil? We were trained to recognize the signs and symptoms, that's about it.

If you were flying as a passenger, how did you know what the tower was issuing?

Of the airlines you mentioned though, I would bet the crews all have considerably more experience operating in Denver than those that declined.

They were going the full hour. Okay maybe 45 minutes but I was delayed an hour because of it. I got caught right in the very beginning of it. It was a pretty freaky cloud formation that came right over the mountains and onto the airport. The scene from the movie Independace Day comes to mind when the spaceship entered Earth's atmosphere. It was a pretty cool looking disc shape cloud with a lot of rotor whispies underneath it.

I wasn't a passenger that flight. Sorry, that sentance was mistakenly inserted on this page. Have multiple pages going :)

deleted my reply to your last statement flyanddive about the crews taking off because they had more "experience". Wow...

Sounds like a lenticular. Very common near the mountains. Fairly easy to see where you are going to get knocked around. Keep in mind there is a big difference between a windshear alert and a warning.

Not more experience, more experience with Denver and the mountains. BIG DIFFERENCE. Jungle sums it up nicely: :D

Yeah those Lynx crews....well BB doesn't like em' :eek:

Didn't know the Q (or any pax aircraft) could climb at 5000-6000fpm or handle a 90kt shear. interesting...

I worked for Lynx and am pretty sure there was a delay program policy in place. I remember delaying a takeoff for wind shear.

are you guys referencing the really crappy weather that DEN had on the 4th? in the evening? I was working that day and was lucky enough to have left DEN for my overnight well before the weather hit....

I heard some horror stories from that night from crews about diversions, duty days, etc....

Correct you are. If the windshear is +/-15kts or more...delay takeoff or approach.