Separation (air Traffic Control)
In air traffic control, separation is the name for the concept of keeping an aircraft outside a minimum distance from another aircraft to reduce the risk of those aircraft colliding, as well as prevent accidents due to wake turbulence.
Air traffic controllers apply rules, known as separation minima to do this. Pairs of aircraft to which these rules have been successfully applied are said to be separated: the risk of these aircraft colliding is therefore remote. If separation is lost between two aircraft, they are said to be in a conflict.
When an aircraft passes behind or follows another aircraft, wake turbulence minima are applied due to the effect of the wingtip vortices of the preceding aircraft on the following aircraft. These minima vary depending on the relative size of the two aircraft. This is particularly acute on final approach with a smaller aircraft following larger aircraft.
Read more about Separation (air Traffic Control): Which Aircraft Need Separating?, Vertical Separation, Horizontal Separation, Conflicts, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words separation and/or traffic:
“Like sleep disturbances, some worries at separation can be expected in the second year. If you accept this, then you will avoid reacting to this anxiety as if it’s your fault. A mother who feels guilty will appear anxious to the child, as if to affirm the child’s anxiety. By contrast, a parent who understands that separation anxiety is normal is more likely to react in a way that soothes and reassures the child.”
—Cathy Rindner Tempelsman (20th century)
“There was a girl who was running the traffic desk, and there was a woman who was on the overnight for radio as a producer, and my desk assistant was a woman. So when the world came to an end, we took over.”
—Marya McLaughlin, U.S. television newswoman. As quoted in Women in Television News, ch. 3, by Judith S. Gelfman (1976)