Your website is so wonderful. May I ask what a microburst is?
Thank you for your reply.
A microburst is very different from a tornado in that it is much localized in nature. It arises from a column of sinking air and producing divergent and straight line winds at the surface of the earth. On the other hand, the sinking air from the tornadoes is generally convergent.
There are two types of microburst: wet and dry microburst. They go through three stages in their life cycle: the outburst, downburst, and cushion stages. The scale and suddenness of a microburst makes it a great danger to aircraft due to the low-level wind shear caused by its gust front, with several fatal crashes attributed to the phenomenon over the past several decades.
I would be grateful if you could answer a question for me?
My daughter has a severe peanut allergy which requires her to carry epipens. We are flying for the first time since her allergy was diagnosed last year. We will be flying from Gatwick to Orlando on a 9-hour flight.
My concern is what would happen if she were to have a life threatening reaction on board, especially once over the Atlantic. How far away would we be from a diversion airport at any time during the flight? The epipens do not always resolve a reaction fully; just buy time until emergency medical help is received. So length of time to an emergency landing is an important consideration.
Also what is the usual route taken on this flight.
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