Ned Raynolds, an American Airlines spokesman, said that the airline was updating its pilots about the inclement weather, but he was not certain if the tornado warning got passed along. Wendling described the close encounter with the funnel as feeling like “turbulence on the runway.”Īnother flight, an American Airlines 757 destined for Chicago, was damaged by the tornado, with no advance warning given to passengers, according to Campisi and a media report. A passenger on a parked American Airlines jet at Concourse C, Derrick Wendling, says neither the pilots nor the cabin crew on his flight mentioned the possibility of a tornado either. The airport’s automated weather reporting service did not carry the tornado warning - but at one point it did note that a tornado was observed moving across the airport.Ĭampisi never received the tornado warning from any source. He tried monitoring air traffic control frequencies for more information, but they were silent, since no planes were landing or taking off during the thunderstorms. The plane’s built-in weather radar was useless while in the vicinity of so many terminal buildings. (National Weather Service)Ĭampisi, a self-professed weather geek who minored in meteorology in college, says that while his jet was parked at gate A4, he was relying on his mobile phone’s radar application to keep tabs on the storms, but his App does not show severe weather warnings. Sitting at the gate with passengers on board, Campisi was unaware that a tornado warning had been in effect for more than 30 minutes.ĭoppler radar of the tornadic thunderstorm as it approached St. Since ground personnel were forced inside for safety reasons, he gave up hope of turning his aircraft around fast enough to beat the storm. It illustrates what some say is a fundamental problem with the way weather information is shared among the National Weather Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and airline personnel, and then disseminatedĪt around 7:30 pm that evening, Jim Campisi, a veteran Delta Airlines captain, was preparing his MD-88 narrow-body jet for pushback when lightning shut down the ramp area. This post documents how passengers and at least one airline pilot were unaware of the danger until it was swirling around them. Part I detailed how people inside the airport terminal buildings never received the warning. Louis International Airport on April 22, 2011, causing extensive damage to airport facilities and numerous injuries. This story is the second in a two-part series on the strong tornado that struck Lambert-St. ![]() The National Weather Service confirms that it was a tornado that struck the airport causing several injuries and sending people scurrying for shelter as plated glass shattered around them, (Jeff Roberson/AP) ![]() Louis International Airport Saturday, April 23, 2011, in St. ![]() In this aerial photo, a large hole is seen in the roof of Concourse C at Lambert-St.
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