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The Value of NCEI Data: How NCEI Supports US Aviation

June 17, 2016
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The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), as the official repository of NEXRAD archived data, provides an important service to airlines and public agencies that complete forensic analysis to understand the factors that led to an aviation incident/accident. Such analysis is invaluable to improving the safety of airline passengers, and to protect the sector’s bottom line through avoided incidents/accidents. The free provision of NCEI’s data has made forensic analysis accessible and economical for a range of analysts and has contributed to a greater public good. In the absence of a central repository of archived weather data, forensic analysis could become prohibitively expensive, which could, in turn, decrease the amount of ‘lessons learned’. This data source plays an important role for the continued safety of air travel, and to insulate the economy’s bottom line from the economic impacts of aviation incidents and accidents.