Air Force Two carrying Kamala Harris faces ‘wind shear,’ diverted to DC-area airport

Vice President Kamala Harris’ aircraft had to be diverted to a Washington-area airport due to stormy weather. At the time, she was returning from a trip to Georgia.

“Tonight, en route from Atlanta, GA, Air Force 2 was diverted from Joint Base Andrews to Dulles International Airport due to inclement weather,” Press secretary Kirsten Allen said in a statement, according to Fox40.

A source familiar with the incident said the plane was met with a wind shear due to a storm. No one was injured, the person confirmed. The aircraft landed safely at Dulles and the Vice President is reportedly at home now.

What is wind shear?
According to the Bureau of Meteorology website, wind shear is a “wind direction and/or speed change over a vertical or horizontal distance.” “It is significant when it causes changes to an aircraft’s headwind or tailwind such that the aircraft is abruptly displaced from its intended flight path and substantial control action is required to correct it,” the website says.

“Although wind shear may be present at all levels of the atmosphere, its occurrence in the lower levels is of particular importance to aircraft taking-off and landing. During the climb-out and approach phases of flight, aircraft airspeed and height are near critical values, rendering the aircraft especially susceptible to the adverse effects of wind shear. The response of aircraft to wind shear is extremely complex and depends on many factors including the type of aircraft, the phase of flight, the scale on which the wind shear operates relative to the size of the aircraft, and the intensity and duration of the wind shear encountered,” it adds.