{"id":18851506,"date":"2026-09-01T11:09:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wake-turbulence-wingtip-vortices-separation-explained\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T08:43:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T06:43:26","slug":"wake-turbulence-wingtip-vortices-separation-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wake-turbulence-wingtip-vortices-separation-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Wake Turbulence: The Invisible Tornado Behind Every Airliner"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background 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An Emirates A380 passed 1,000 feet overhead in the opposite direction, entirely legally.<\/p><p>Forty-seven seconds later the Challenger rolled through 42 degrees in a single second, pulled 1.6 g and then minus 3.2 g in the next, pitched from nine degrees nose-up to twenty nose-down, and fell roughly 8,700 feet while rotating several times about its longitudinal axis. Both inertial reference systems failed. The aircraft landed at Muscat and never flew again: the airframe had exceeded its certification design load limits.<\/p><p>Nothing had touched it. The A380 had left behind a pair of invisible, counter-rotating tornadoes, and they were still there three quarters of a minute later.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px 22px;margin:26px 0;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:17px;color:#222\">Quick Facts<\/p><table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px;line-height:1.6\"><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;white-space:normal;vertical-align:top;min-width:130px\"><strong>What makes a wake worst<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;white-space:normal\">Heavy, clean and slow, in the FAA&rsquo;s own capitalised phrasing<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;white-space:normal;vertical-align:top;min-width:130px\"><strong>Governing relationship<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;white-space:normal\">Initial circulation is proportional to weight, and inversely proportional to wingspan and speed<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;white-space:normal;vertical-align:top;min-width:130px\"><strong>Vortex spacing<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;white-space:normal\">A bit less than a wingspan apart, about 0.785 times the span<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;white-space:normal;vertical-align:top;min-width:130px\"><strong>Peak tangential velocity<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;white-space:normal\">Almost 300 feet per second recorded, roughly 178 knots<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;white-space:normal;vertical-align:top;min-width:130px\"><strong>Sink behaviour<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;white-space:normal\">Around 300 to 500 ft\/min initially, levelling 500 to 900 ft below the flightpath<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;white-space:normal;vertical-align:top;min-width:130px\"><strong>The dangerous crosswind<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;white-space:normal\">A cross-runway component of 1 to 5 knots can hold the upwind vortex in the touchdown zone<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;white-space:normal;vertical-align:top;min-width:130px\"><strong>ICAO categories<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;white-space:normal\">Super (A380-800), Heavy 136,000 kg and above, Medium 7,000 to 136,000 kg, Light 7,000 kg and below<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;white-space:normal;vertical-align:top;min-width:130px\"><strong>Approach separation<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;white-space:normal\">From 4 NM Heavy behind Heavy up to 8 NM Light behind Super<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;white-space:normal;vertical-align:top;min-width:130px\"><strong>Do winglets help?<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;white-space:normal\">No. The FAA describes the effect on wake generation as negligible<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Where the tornado comes from<\/h2><p>A wing generates lift by holding lower pressure above it than below. At the wingtip, nothing prevents the high-pressure air underneath from spilling around into the low-pressure region on top, and that spillage, combined with the forward motion of the aircraft, rolls into a vortex.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/wingtip-vortex-formation-diagram.png\" alt=\"Diagram showing wingtip vortex formation from the pressure difference across a wing\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The mechanism: high pressure below spills around the tip into low pressure above, and the flow rolls up into a trailing vortex. Diagram: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p>The FAA describes the result as two counter-rotating cylindrical vortices, with most of the energy concentrated within a few feet of each core. This is not a by-product that clever design can eliminate. It is the direct signature of lift. An aircraft producing lift is producing vortices, always.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/nasa-wake-vortex-study-wallops-island-smoke.jpg\" alt=\"NASA wake vortex study at Wallops Island with coloured smoke\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">NASA made the invisible visible at Wallops Island by flying through coloured smoke rising from the ground. Photo: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p>Strength follows a simple relationship: initial circulation rises with weight and falls with wingspan and speed. Which is why the memorable FAA formulation is heavy, clean and slow. A heavy aircraft, flaps and gear retracted so the whole load is carried on the wing, flying slowly, produces the worst wake it is capable of. That describes an aircraft on departure or on final approach rather more accurately than one in cruise.<\/p><p>Peak tangential velocities of almost 300 feet per second have been recorded, roughly 178 knots.<\/p><h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Where it goes after it is made<\/h2><p>Vortices sink. The FAA&rsquo;s current Aeronautical Information Manual says only that wakes from larger aircraft descend at several hundred feet per minute, having dropped the specific numbers it once published. The FAA&rsquo;s own Wake Turbulence Training Aid is more precise: a sink of roughly 300 to 500 feet per minute for about 30 seconds, after which the rate decreases and approaches zero somewhere between 500 and 900 feet below the flightpath. EASA, writing about the cruise environment, gives a typical sink rate of about 400 feet per minute and persistence of two to three minutes.<\/p><p>Near the ground the behaviour changes and becomes far more dangerous. Within 100 to 200 feet of the surface, vortices stop sinking and begin moving sideways at two or three knots.<\/p><p>This produces the single most counter-intuitive hazard in the subject. A light crosswind is worse than none.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;A light wind with a cross-runway component of 1 to 5 knots could result in the upwind vortex remaining in the touchdown zone. THE LIGHT QUARTERING TAILWIND REQUIRES MAXIMUM CAUTION.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Federal Aviation Administration<\/strong> &mdash; Aeronautical Information Manual, paragraph 7-4-4b, on crosswind effects<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>The capitals are the FAA&rsquo;s. With no wind, both vortices drift apart symmetrically. With a gentle crosswind, the upwind vortex is held stationary directly over the touchdown zone, precisely where the next aircraft intends to be. Above about six knots the wake is swept clear quickly.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yIyb06nzLPs\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p>The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority sets out the operational rules in the briefing above.<\/p><h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The separation rules, and why they differ<\/h2><p>ICAO sorts aircraft into four wake categories: Super, currently comprising the A380-800 alone; Heavy at 136,000 kg and above; Medium between 7,000 and 136,000 kg; and Light at 7,000 kg or less.<\/p><p>The FAA uses a different scheme, and the mismatch trips people up. FAA Heavy begins at 300,000 lb, which is close enough to ICAO&rsquo;s threshold, but the FAA then splits everything below into Large and Small at 41,000 lb and has no Light category at all. An 8,000 kg twin is ICAO Medium and FAA Small. The Boeing 757 sits in a category of its own in practice, classified as Large but with special separation criteria attached, because its wake proved unusually strong for its weight.<\/p><p>On approach, ICAO separations run from 4 nautical miles for Heavy behind Heavy out to 8 miles for Light behind Super. Departure intervals are measured in time rather than distance: two minutes behind a Heavy, three behind a Super, and the FAA is explicit that controllers may not reduce or waive those particular intervals.<\/p><p>Both regulators have since moved to finer-grained schemes. Europe uses RECAT-EU, six categories assigned on maximum take-off mass and wingspan jointly. The FAA went further, to a nine-category system under Consolidated Wake Turbulence, on the reasoning set out in its own order: four miles is appropriate for a 767 following a 747, and unnecessary when the 747 is following the 767.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/nasa-boeing-747-wake-vortex-study-1974.jpg\" alt=\"NASA Boeing 747 wake vortex study in 1974 with chase aircraft\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">NASA Flight Research Center, 1974: a 747-100 trailed by chase aircraft during the wake studies that produced much of the data behind today&rsquo;s separation minima. Photo: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">American Airlines 587, and what it does not mean<\/h2><p>On 12 November 2001, an Airbus A300-605R crashed at Belle Harbor, New York, killing all 260 on board and five people on the ground. It had departed behind a Japan Air Lines 747-400 and encountered its wake twice.<\/p><p>The accident is routinely cited as proof of what wake turbulence can do to an airliner. That reading is wrong, and it matters.<\/p><p>The separation was not merely legal, it was generous: the NTSB recorded that the two aircraft were separated at all times by at least 4.3 nautical miles horizontally and 3,800 feet vertically, because the local controller had added extra radar separation. NASA Langley modelling for the investigation put the wake&rsquo;s age at about 100 seconds and its remaining circulation at between 63 and 80 per cent of initial strength. The NTSB record notes that the lead wake analyst described the encounter as nothing extraordinary.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;The in-flight separation of the vertical stabilizer as a result of the loads beyond ultimate design that were created by the first officer&rsquo;s unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>National Transportation Safety Board<\/strong> &mdash; Aircraft Accident Report NTSB\/AAR-04\/04, probable cause, adopted 26 October 2004<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>A normal wake encounter behind a legally separated aircraft was the trigger. The response to it broke the aeroplane. That is a different lesson, and a more useful one.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7ETci4fM-Vg\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p>The NTSB&rsquo;s own animation of the encounter is above.<\/p><p>The regulator eventually wrote that lesson down, prompted by the A380 and Challenger event fourteen years later.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Try to avoid large rudder deflections that can create important lateral accelerations, which could then generate very large forces on the vertical stabiliser that may exceed the structural resistance.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>European Union Aviation Safety Agency<\/strong> &mdash; Safety Information Bulletin 2017-10R1, En-route Wake Turbulence Encounters, 2 September 2021<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The part nobody had planned for<\/h2><p>The Challenger 604 case exposed a genuine gap. Separation minima are built for the terminal area, where aircraft are heavy, slow and close together. Nobody had written rules for two aircraft passing in opposite directions in the cruise, because nobody expected a wake to survive the journey.<\/p><p>EASA&rsquo;s subsequent guidance is blunt about the scale of it: wake can be encountered up to 25 nautical miles behind the generating aeroplane, with the most significant encounters reported within 15 miles, and no specific horizontal wake turbulence separation minima exist for en-route flight at all. Cruise wakes from the largest types can descend more than 1,000 feet, which is exactly one RVSM level.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZI9ZHBRc2yQ\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p>EASA&rsquo;s other recommendation is the one that runs against instinct: if the pilot reacts at the first roll motion, while still in the vortex core, the roll can be amplified by that initial input.<\/p><h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Two things worth unlearning<\/h2><p>The first is winglets. They reduce induced drag and save fuel, and it is widely assumed they must therefore tame the wake. The FAA has tested this and says otherwise: studies during approach and landing show no discernible difference between aircraft with and without winglets, and the AIM describes the effect on wake generation as negligible.<\/p><p>The second is that this is a big-aircraft problem. It is not. What determines whether you survive an encounter is whether your wingspan and ailerons extend beyond the rotational flow field of the vortex. A large aircraft straddles the vortex and rolls slowly. A light aircraft sits entirely inside it, and can be displaced more than 30 degrees in roll with sink rates beyond 1,000 feet per minute.<\/p><p>On 16 December 2021 at Knoxville, a Cirrus SR22 turned base about 1.8 nautical miles behind an Allegiant A320. At roughly 1,000 feet it rolled sharply left through as much as 135 degrees with the nose 30 degrees down. The parachute was deployed with insufficient altitude. The NTSB found the probable cause to be a wake vortex encounter resulting in a roll upset at an altitude too low for recovery, with the failure of air traffic control to issue a cautionary advisory as a contributing factor.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;AVOID THE AREA BELOW AND BEHIND THE WAKE GENERATING AIRCRAFT, ESPECIALLY AT LOW ALTITUDE WHERE EVEN A MOMENTARY WAKE ENCOUNTER COULD BE CATASTROPHIC.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Federal Aviation Administration<\/strong> &mdash; Aeronautical Information Manual, paragraph 7-4-5b, Operations Problem Areas<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>Again, the capitals belong to the FAA. It does not shout often.<\/p>\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What is wake turbulence?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The pair of counter-rotating vortices trailing from an aircraft&rsquo;s wingtips, generated as a by-product of lift. They persist behind the aircraft, sink, and can remain dangerous to a following aircraft for minutes.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>When is an aircraft&rsquo;s wake at its worst?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">When it is heavy, clean and slow &mdash; the FAA&rsquo;s own capitalised phrasing. Initial circulation is proportional to weight and inversely proportional to wingspan and speed, so a heavy aircraft flying slowly with flaps and gear up produces the strongest vortices.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How strong can wake vortices be?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Peak tangential velocities of almost 300 feet per second have been recorded, roughly 178 knots. In one 2017 encounter over the Arabian Sea a Challenger 604 rolled through 42 degrees in a single second and fell around 8,700 feet after an A380 passed 1,000 feet overhead, and the airframe never flew again.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Where do wake vortices go?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">They sink, at around 300 to 500 feet per minute initially, levelling out roughly 500 to 900 feet below the flightpath. They sit a little less than a wingspan apart, about 0.785 times the span.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why is a light crosswind dangerous on landing?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Because a cross-runway component of only 1 to 5 knots can hold the upwind vortex stationary over the touchdown zone, exactly where the next aircraft will be. A stronger wind blows it clear; a very light one lets it drift away on its own.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What are the ICAO wake turbulence categories?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Super for the A380-800, Heavy for 136,000 kg and above, Medium for 7,000 to 136,000 kg, and Light below that.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is wake turbulence?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The pair of counter-rotating vortices trailing from an aircraft\u2019s wingtips, generated as a by-product of lift. They persist behind the aircraft, sink, and can remain dangerous to a following aircraft for minutes.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"When is an aircraft\u2019s wake at its worst?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"When it is heavy, clean and slow \u2014 the FAA\u2019s own capitalised phrasing. Initial circulation is proportional to weight and inversely proportional to wingspan and speed, so a heavy aircraft flying slowly with flaps and gear up produces the strongest vortices.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How strong can wake vortices be?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Peak tangential velocities of almost 300 feet per second have been recorded, roughly 178 knots. In one 2017 encounter over the Arabian Sea a Challenger 604 rolled through 42 degrees in a single second and fell around 8,700 feet after an A380 passed 1,000 feet overhead, and the airframe never flew again.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Where do wake vortices go?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"They sink, at around 300 to 500 feet per minute initially, levelling out roughly 500 to 900 feet below the flightpath. They sit a little less than a wingspan apart, about 0.785 times the span.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why is a light crosswind dangerous on landing?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Because a cross-runway component of only 1 to 5 knots can hold the upwind vortex stationary over the touchdown zone, exactly where the next aircraft will be. A stronger wind blows it clear; a very light one lets it drift away on its own.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What are the ICAO wake turbulence categories?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Super for the A380-800, Heavy for 136,000 kg and above, Medium for 7,000 to 136,000 kg, and Light below that.\"}}]}<\/script><p><em>Sources: FAA Aeronautical Information Manual Ch.7 \u00a74, AC 90-23G and the Wake Turbulence Training Aid; NTSB AAR-04\/04 and ERA22LA089; EASA SIB 2017-10R1; German BFU file BFU17-0024-2X as quoted by the Flight Safety Foundation; EUROCONTROL RECAT-EU Ed. 2.0; FAA Order JO 7110.126B; Hallock and Holz&auml;pfel, Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/winglets-richard-whitcomb-nasa-wingtip-vortex-fuel-saving\/\">The Bent Wingtips That Save Billions in Fuel<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/what-happens-during-an-aircraft-emergency-the-first-60-seconds\/\">What Happens During an Aircraft Emergency: The First 60 Seconds<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every aircraft producing lift trails a pair of counter-rotating tornadoes. How they form, where they go, why a light crosswind is the dangerous one, and what the A380 and Challenger 604 event changed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":18850854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18851506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Wake Turbulence: The Tornado Behind Every Airliner | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How wingtip vortices form, where they drift, why a light crosswind is the dangerous one, and what the A380 and Challenger 604 encounter changed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wake-turbulence-wingtip-vortices-separation-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wake Turbulence: The Tornado Behind Every Airliner | MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How wingtip vortices form, where they drift, why a light crosswind is the dangerous one, and what the A380 and Challenger 604 encounter changed.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wake-turbulence-wingtip-vortices-separation-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - 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