Aviation Safety at the Brink: Unveiling the Hidden Dangers of Wind-Shear-Related Aircraft-Missed Approaches

Aircraft-missed approaches pose significant safety challenges, particularly under adverse weather conditions like wind shear. This study examines the critical factors influencing wind-shear-related missed approaches at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) using Pilot Report (PIREP) data from 2015...

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Main Authors: Afaq Khattak, Jianping Zhang, Pak-Wai Chan, Feng Chen, Abdulrazak H. Almaliki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Aerospace
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/2/126
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author Afaq Khattak
Jianping Zhang
Pak-Wai Chan
Feng Chen
Abdulrazak H. Almaliki
author_facet Afaq Khattak
Jianping Zhang
Pak-Wai Chan
Feng Chen
Abdulrazak H. Almaliki
author_sort Afaq Khattak
collection DOAJ
description Aircraft-missed approaches pose significant safety challenges, particularly under adverse weather conditions like wind shear. This study examines the critical factors influencing wind-shear-related missed approaches at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) using Pilot Report (PIREP) data from 2015 to 2023. A Binary Logistic Model (BLM) with L1 (Lasso) and L2 (Ridge) regularization was applied to both balanced and imbalanced datasets, with the balanced dataset created using the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE). The performance of the BLM on the balanced data demonstrated a good model fit, with Hosmer–Lemeshow statistics of 5.91 (L1) and 5.90 (L2). The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) were slightly lower for L1 regularization, at 1528.77 and 1574.35, respectively, compared to 1528.86 and 1574.66 for L2. Cohen’s Kappa values were 0.266 for L1 and 0.253 for L2, reflecting moderate agreement between observed and predicted outcomes and improved performance compared to the imbalanced data. The analysis identified designated-approach runway, aircraft classification, wind shear source, and vertical proximity of wind shear to runway as the most influential factors. Runways 07R and 07C, gust fronts as wind shear sources, and wind shear occurring within 400 ft of the runway posed the highest risk for missed approaches. Narrow-body aircrafts also demonstrated greater susceptibility to turbulence-induced missed approaches. These findings show the importance of addressing these risk factors and enhancing safety protocols for adverse weather conditions.
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spelling doaj-art-4d13612b75864544bb622a164fcfe8bc2025-08-20T02:44:47ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102025-02-0112212610.3390/aerospace12020126Aviation Safety at the Brink: Unveiling the Hidden Dangers of Wind-Shear-Related Aircraft-Missed ApproachesAfaq Khattak0Jianping Zhang1Pak-Wai Chan2Feng Chen3Abdulrazak H. Almaliki4Key Laboratory of Infrastructure Durability and Operation Safety in Airfield of CAAC, Tongji University, 4800 Cao’an Road, Jiading, Shanghai 201804, ChinaSecond Research Institute of Civil Aviation Administration of China, Civil Unmanned Aircraft Traffic Management Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610041, ChinaHong Kong Observatory, 134A Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong, ChinaKey Laboratory of Infrastructure Durability and Operation Safety in Airfield of CAAC, Tongji University, 4800 Cao’an Road, Jiading, Shanghai 201804, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi ArabiaAircraft-missed approaches pose significant safety challenges, particularly under adverse weather conditions like wind shear. This study examines the critical factors influencing wind-shear-related missed approaches at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) using Pilot Report (PIREP) data from 2015 to 2023. A Binary Logistic Model (BLM) with L1 (Lasso) and L2 (Ridge) regularization was applied to both balanced and imbalanced datasets, with the balanced dataset created using the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE). The performance of the BLM on the balanced data demonstrated a good model fit, with Hosmer–Lemeshow statistics of 5.91 (L1) and 5.90 (L2). The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) were slightly lower for L1 regularization, at 1528.77 and 1574.35, respectively, compared to 1528.86 and 1574.66 for L2. Cohen’s Kappa values were 0.266 for L1 and 0.253 for L2, reflecting moderate agreement between observed and predicted outcomes and improved performance compared to the imbalanced data. The analysis identified designated-approach runway, aircraft classification, wind shear source, and vertical proximity of wind shear to runway as the most influential factors. Runways 07R and 07C, gust fronts as wind shear sources, and wind shear occurring within 400 ft of the runway posed the highest risk for missed approaches. Narrow-body aircrafts also demonstrated greater susceptibility to turbulence-induced missed approaches. These findings show the importance of addressing these risk factors and enhancing safety protocols for adverse weather conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/2/126aviation safetymissed approacheswind shearbinary logit model
spellingShingle Afaq Khattak
Jianping Zhang
Pak-Wai Chan
Feng Chen
Abdulrazak H. Almaliki
Aviation Safety at the Brink: Unveiling the Hidden Dangers of Wind-Shear-Related Aircraft-Missed Approaches
Aerospace
aviation safety
missed approaches
wind shear
binary logit model
title Aviation Safety at the Brink: Unveiling the Hidden Dangers of Wind-Shear-Related Aircraft-Missed Approaches
title_full Aviation Safety at the Brink: Unveiling the Hidden Dangers of Wind-Shear-Related Aircraft-Missed Approaches
title_fullStr Aviation Safety at the Brink: Unveiling the Hidden Dangers of Wind-Shear-Related Aircraft-Missed Approaches
title_full_unstemmed Aviation Safety at the Brink: Unveiling the Hidden Dangers of Wind-Shear-Related Aircraft-Missed Approaches
title_short Aviation Safety at the Brink: Unveiling the Hidden Dangers of Wind-Shear-Related Aircraft-Missed Approaches
title_sort aviation safety at the brink unveiling the hidden dangers of wind shear related aircraft missed approaches
topic aviation safety
missed approaches
wind shear
binary logit model
url https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/2/126
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