PCAA Meteorology case studies
PCAA Meteorology · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The PCAA Meteorology examination is the knowledge assessment used within Pakistan's civil aviation system to establish that a candidate understands the atmosphere well enough to support safe flight operations. It is most relevant to people preparing for meteorological observer or forecaster roles serving aviation, to air traffic services and flight dispatch personnel who must interpret weather products correctly, and to pilots and instructors who want their theoretical weather knowledge tested against a civil-aviation standard. The PCAA Meteorology case studies are 5 cases and about 3,523 words.
1Hot-Day Departure from Islamabad: The Altimeter That Read 2,060 ft
Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad (elevation 1,663 ft AMSL, runway 12/30, 3,287 m), 1430 PST in late June. The 1400 METAR gives surface temperature 44 °C, dewpoint 12 °C, QNH 1000 hPa, wind 310/08 kt, visibility 6 km in haze, no cloud below 5,000 ft.
563 words, about 3 min2Night Freight into a Warm Nose: Icing with No FIKI and No Oxygen
A single-engine turboprop Caravan, unpressurized and not FIKI-certified, is flying a night freight sector from Karachi to Quetta in mid-February at 12,000 ft. The route sounding shows: surface +8 °C; 850 hPa (about 5,000 ft) +4 °C; a frontal inversion near 9,000 ft where temperature rises from −1 °C to +3 °C; then 700 hPa (10,000 ft) −3 °C and 600 hPa (14,000 ft) −11 °C.
571 words, about 3 min3Karachi Squall Line: A Legal Approach That Should Not Be Flown
Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, 15 July, 1600 PST. A monsoon squall line is crossing the field.
775 words, about 4 min4A February Western Disturbance: Releasing a Flight into an Embedded Squall Line
12 February, 0300 UTC. The surface chart shows a 1002 hPa low near Zahedan with a trough extending east-north-east to Quetta; the 500 hPa trough axis lies near 60° E and a 130 kt jet streak at 300 hPa crosses northern Punjab.
782 words, about 4 min5Lahore Winter Fog: Reading a TAF Whose Validity Ends Too Early
Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore (elevation 712 ft), 22 December. At 2000 PST the temperature/dewpoint is 9/8 °C, wind calm, QNH 1018 hPa; by 2200 it is 7/7 °C, still calm, with shallow fog reported at the city station 8 km east.
832 words, about 4 min