Sudden change in wind speed or direction over a short distance, which is most dangerous close to the ground during take-off and approach.
What it is
An aircraft flies thanks to the air moving past it. If the wind changes abruptly, so does its airspeed: a sudden headwind increases it, while a sudden tailwind reduces it, and the lift with it. At cruising altitude there is plenty of margin to recover, but near the ground, flying slowly with little height to spare, that margin is small.
The most feared form is the microburst, a column of air plunging down from a thunderstorm that spreads out on hitting the ground over an area a few kilometres across. An aircraft flying through one on approach first meets a headwind, which makes it climb and gain speed, then a downdraught, and finally a tailwind that robs it of speed just when it is lowest.
Today there are several layers of protection: weather radar and networks of anemometers at some airports that detect the phenomenon, onboard radar that predicts it, flight deck alerts once the aircraft is in it, and an escape manoeuvre practised in the simulator: maximum thrust, nose-up attitude as commanded by the flight director, and no change to flaps or landing gear until clear. When wind shear is suspected, crews avoid taking off or landing.
Related terms
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Wind shear. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wind-shear
MLA
“Wind shear.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wind-shear. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Wind shear.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wind-shear.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Wind shear. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wind-shear (Accessed: 19 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_wind_shear,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Wind shear}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-09},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wind-shear},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wind-shear}},
urldate = {2026-10-19},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-19}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/wind-shear |title=Wind shear |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-19 |language=en}}