Ground-based identification of wake turbulence encounters

1. A ground-based server for identifying a wake turbulence generated by at least one generating aircraft, the ground-based server comprising:

at least one processor and memory storing executable instructions for the at least one processor; and

a wake turbulence analyzer implemented on the at least one processor and memory and configured for:

collecting avionics data for an in-flight aircraft and traffic data for one or more other aircraft in flight at a first flight time of the in-flight aircraft;

determining that the in-flight aircraft was within a threshold distance of at least a first position of a wake turbulence estimated, using the traffic data, to be generated by a first other aircraft;

determining, after the first flight time and at the ground-based server, that the in-flight aircraft experienced at the first flight time an impact having a severity level exceeding a threshold;

determining, after the first flight time and at the ground-based server, that the in-flight aircraft experienced at the first flight time at least one of: one or more uncommanded forces and moments, and a wind signature indicative of wake turbulence; and

generating a report of a wake turbulence encounter for the in-flight aircraft at the first flight time in response to: determining that the in-flight aircraft was within the threshold distance, determining that the in-flight aircraft experienced the impact, and determining that the in-flight aircraft experienced at least one of the one or more uncommanded forces and moments and the wind signature.

2. The ground-based server of claim 1 , wherein the wake turbulence analyzer is configured for collecting additional avionics data for a fleet of aircraft over a window of time and additional traffic data for the window of time and generating a plurality of wake turbulence reports for the fleet of aircraft over the window of time.

3. The ground-based server of claim 1 , wherein collecting avionics data for the in-flight aircraft comprises communicating with an on-board avionics computer system of the in-flight aircraft during or after the first flight time.

4. The ground-based server of claim 1 , wherein collecting the traffic data for the one or more other aircraft comprises communicating with an on-board avionics computer system of the in-flight aircraft during or after the first flight time, wherein the on-board avionics computer system is configured to record air-to-air data link messages from the one or more other aircraft when the other aircraft are within a vicinity of the in-flight aircraft.

5. The ground-based server of claim 1 , wherein collecting the traffic data for the one or more other aircraft comprises requesting the traffic data from an external data server.

6. The ground-based server of claim 1 , wherein determining that the in-flight aircraft was within the threshold distance of the first position of the wake turbulence comprises computing, using the traffic data, a central line of the wake turbulence of the first other aircraft and determining, using the central line, a volume in which the wake turbulences are likely to influence behavior of the in-flight aircraft.

7. The ground-based server of claim 1 , wherein determining that the in-flight aircraft was within a threshold distance of a wake turbulence comprises measuring the wake turbulence using a ground-based measurement system and determining a volume in which the wake turbulences are likely to influence the behavior of the in-flight aircraft.

8. The ground-based server of claim 1 , wherein determining the severity level comprises evaluating one or more of the following parameters against pre-determined values:

roll and pitch angles;

maximums of lateral and vertical load factors at a center of gravity of the in-flight aircraft or another specific place on the in-flight aircraft;

deviations with respect to an intended flight trajectory;

an aerodynamic envelope;

one or more structural loads;

maximums of external roll moments; and

maximums of roll control ratios.

9. A method for identifying a wake turbulence generated by at least one generating aircraft, the method comprising:

collecting, by a wake turbulence analyzer implemented on at least one processor of a ground-based server, avionics data for an in-flight aircraft and traffic data for one or more other aircraft in flight at a first flight time of the in-flight aircraft;

determining, by the wake turbulence analyzer using the avionics data, that the in-flight aircraft was within a threshold distance of at least a first position of a wake turbulence estimated, using the traffic data, to be generated by a first other aircraft;

determining, by the wake turbulence analyzer using the avionics data, and after the first flight time, that the in-flight aircraft experienced at the first flight time an impact having a severity level exceeding a threshold;

determining, by the wake turbulence analyzer using the avionics data, and after the first flight time, that the in-flight aircraft experienced at the first flight time at least one of: one or more uncommanded forces and moments, and a wind signature indicative of wake turbulence; and

generating, by the wake turbulence analyzer, a report of a wake turbulence encounter for the in-flight aircraft at the first flight time in response to: determining that the in-flight aircraft was within the threshold distance, determining that the in-flight aircraft experienced the impact, and determining that the in-flight aircraft experienced at least one of the one or more uncommanded forces and moments and the wind signature.

10. The method of claim 9 , comprising collecting additional avionics data for a fleet of aircraft over a window of time and additional traffic data for the window of time and generating a plurality of wake turbulence reports for the fleet of aircraft over the window of time.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein collecting avionics data for the in-flight aircraft comprises communicating with an on-board avionics computer system of the in-flight aircraft during or after the first flight time.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein collecting the traffic data for the one or more other aircraft comprises communicating with an on-board avionics computer system of the in-flight aircraft during or after the first flight time, wherein the on-board avionics computer system is configured to record air-to-air data link messages from the one or more other aircraft when the other aircraft are within a vicinity of the in-flight aircraft.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein collecting the traffic data for the one or more other aircraft comprises requesting the traffic data from an external data server.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining that the in-flight aircraft was within the threshold distance the first position of the wake turbulence comprises computing, using the traffic data, a central line of the wake turbulence of the first other aircraft and determining, using the central line, a volume in which the wake turbulences are likely to influence the behavior of the in-flight aircraft.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining that the in-flight aircraft was within a threshold distance of a wake turbulence comprises measuring the wake turbulence using a ground-based measurement system and determining a volume in which the wake turbulences are likely to influence the behavior of the in-flight aircraft.

16. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining the severity level comprises evaluating one or more of the following parameters against pre-determined values:

roll and pitch angles;

maximums of lateral and vertical load factors at a center of gravity of the in-flight aircraft or another specific place on the in-flight aircraft;

deviations with respect to an intended flight trajectory;

an aerodynamic envelope;

one or more structural loads;

maximums of external roll moments; and

maximums of roll control ratios.

17. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

collecting avionics data for an in-flight aircraft and traffic data for one or more other aircraft in flight at a first flight time of the in-flight aircraft;

determining that the in-flight aircraft was within a threshold distance of at least a first position of a wake turbulence estimated, using the traffic data, to be generated by a first other aircraft;

determining, after the first flight time and at a ground-based server, that the in-flight aircraft experienced at the first flight time an impact having a severity level exceeding a threshold;

determining, after the first flight time and at the ground-based server, that the in-flight aircraft experienced at the first flight time at least one of: one or more uncommanded forces and moments, and a wind signature indicative of wake turbulence; and

generating a report of a wake turbulence encounter for the in-flight aircraft at the first flight time in response to: determining that the in-flight aircraft was within the threshold distance, determining that the in-flight aircraft experienced the impact, and determining that the in-flight aircraft experienced at least one of the one or more uncommanded forces and moments and the wind signature.