In odd news today American Airlines was forced to cancel 20 of its flights out of Sky Harbour International Airport due to temperatures soaring to 120 Fahrenheit (48 Celsius) between 3 pm and 6 pm local time. The American Eagle flights which are operated by Bombardier CRJ aircraft have a maximum operating temperature of 118 degrees, therefore they could not fly. Extreme heat like this affects the plane’s ability to take off and poses a major safety risk. Customers were able to get a full refund or could contact AA for rebooking options
Presumably, probably also the 777-300ER’s as a lot of them depart during mid-days as well were temps ar at peak. Must be costing Emirates a lot though as they might have to spend more on fuel and maintenance.
During the summer Phoenix is a baking oven. If planes have that max operating temperature at points where the place it will depart or arrive from is hotter than it. But I never knew planes had an operating temp. because they just takeoff and climb to where the temp is cooler.
As former Arizonan, this gave me a chuckle. Bulba is right, Phoenix is baking oven during summer. Wind make it hotter, not cooler. Feel like hair dryer is blowing at your face.
I can’t wait to hear future news about planes grounded due to haboob (google it up) which is usually start sign of monsoon season which comes with brilliant lightning show and over 30 mph winds. I hope global come out before monsoon season starts in Arizona. 🌵
Apples and oranges. A regional jet and a heavy are two different beast with different performance characteristics. The concern for the smaller jets is the air density during the high temps. When the temps rise, the air density is lower thereby reducing engine efficiency and wing lift efficiency. But I guess you could say that the little jet just can’t take the heat. ;)
Apparently the main issue with the CRJ in hot weather is that 42 degrees is actually the top of the performance chart, and that Bombardier has no statistics on operating CRJs at warmer temperatures. I assure you that an empty CRJ could definitely take-off, it just wouldn’t have any statistics on runway usage or climb performance.
The CF-34 engine used on the CRJ is also found on the ERJs, yet the ERJ can still fly because it has a max. operating temp or 52 degrees. Clearly, the aircraft’s engines can still produce a decent amount of thrust even in hot weather – it just isn’t permitted to.
where I live gets to 120 degrees Fahrenheit everyday and because we have animals we have to make sure they don’t cook (literally). All flights are re-routed now because of wild fires close to my house. And we all know smoke ain’t good in jet engines.
