NTSB · Safety Recommendation
Safety Recommendation A-21-043
Recommendation
TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: Work with the Federal Aviation Administration to modify airmen’s meteorological information (AIRMET) advisory issuing practices to include graphical AIRMET advisories with higher granularity, taking into account the effect it would have on all National Airspace System users.
Safety Issue and Context
Turbulence-related accidents are the most common type of accident involving air carriers operating under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121. From 2009 through 2018, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that turbulence-related accidents accounted for more than a third of all Part 121 accidents; most of these accidents resulted in one or more serious injuries but no aircraft damage.
This NTSB safety research report examines the prevalence and risk factors of turbulence-related accidents in Part 121 air carrier operations; assesses the effectiveness of policies, programs, technologies, and other applicable safety countermeasures; and makes recommendations for improving turbulence avoidance and injury mitigation.
Response History
September 26, 2025 · NTSB Correspondence · United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service
We note that, on January 27, 2025, text AIRMET advisories were retired and, because the process for producing text AIRMETs influenced the quality of G AIRMETs, the quality of G-AIRMETs has improved. On August 5, 2025, NWS staff met with our staff to discuss these improvements, which include an increased fidelity time resolution that has reduced the size of the depicted hazard area and resulted in fewer false alarms. We also note that the NWS, the FAA, and aviation stakeholders worked together to prepare for this transition and mitigate any impacts to NAS users.
We believe the combined work of the NWS and the FAA to improve and transition to G-AIRMETs satisfies the intent of Safety Recommendation A-21-43. Accordingly, the Board has voted to classify this recommendation CLOSED-- ACCEEPTABLE ACTION.
We appreciate your efforts to improve aviation safety.
July 21, 2025 · Recipient Response · United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service
-From Raymond Tanabe, Chief Operating Officer (Acting), NOAA National Weather Service: On January 27, 2025, the Aviation Weather Center (AWC) retired the legacy Contiguous U.S. (CONUS) text AIRMET product and informed stakeholders to use the graphical AIRMET (G-AIRMET) product that has been operational since 2010. This milestone culminated several years of collaboration with the FAA and aviation stakeholders to prepare for the more modernized product and mitigate any impacts of the transition. The benefits of the transition include better time resolution with the G-AIRMET snapshots compared to the text smear of the legacy CONUS AIRMET (a combination of 0-, 3-, and 6-hour time snapshots).
The higher fidelity time resolution allows a reduction of the size of the hazard area depicted and leads to fewer occurrences of false alarms.
The FAA has implemented software changes to accommodate the graphical AIRMET (G-AIRMET) product and has successfully transitioned to the G-AIRMET product.