Mesoscale Analysis on the Asymmetric Rainband of Typhoon Matmo (2014) and the Related Weather Situations for the GE222 Aircraft Crash Case

Typhoon Matmo (2014) was formed over the Central Pacific Ocean on 18 July 2014, and later, it became moderate in intensity (32.7~50.9 m/s) with maximum wind speed of 38 m/s. After it landed the southeast coast of China, the typhoon circulation showed an asymmetric pattern in dipole wind field based upon the composite mean winds at 925 hPa in use of NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and NOAA/ESRL atmospheric variables plotting approach. The wind dipole feature was due to the steep gradient of the geopotential height anomaly at the east flank of the typhoon circulation and the friction effect at its lowest levels over land from the synoptic scale point of view. The study focuses on investigating the characteristics of the line echo wave pattern (LEWP) embedded within the typhoon rainband through the multi-scale processes, and try to realize the possible causes of crash event from the meteorological point of view for TransAsia Airways GE222 occurrence at Makung Airport influenced by the LEWPs in use of mesonet surface analysis based on 1-minute interval data measured by Makung Airport weather station and dual-Doppler radar analysis composited from Makung and Chiku weather radar data. The preliminary results delineated that the wave-like echoes organized by deep convections featured a key factor on the development of short duration heavy rainfall, low visibility and significant turbulence from the mesoscale point of view. Conclusively speaking, the aircraft faced multiple and severe weather situations, including the intense crosswind, obvious downdraft and extremely low visibility. Therefore, the impact of deep convections inside LEWPs embedded within the typhoon rainband on aviation safety was remarkable, and this case is a good lesson for flight safety.