Narrative:

Prior to departure; I reviewed the flight plan weather data for volcanic activity which was listed as 'none.' I had also checked a commercial weather service web site before the trip for volcanic hazard reports for central america; the commercial weather service reported no volcanic activity.on initial climb; once clear of the haze near the ground; the turrialba volcano 24 nm east of mroc became visible with a plume rising to approx 15;000 ft over the summit. We had taken off to the west and the volcano became visible during our turn to the north. As we climbed northbound; we could see a brown/grey ash cloud layered between 10;000-13;000 ft extending from the main plume. This ash layer extended 30-40 nm north of the volcano and was a least 15-20 nm wide where we passed over it. The cloud was the density of wood smoke or forest fire smoke. We reported the ash cloud to both departure control and dispatch via ACARS.this my third trip to mroc in the last 5 weeks and the turrialba volcano has been erupting on each trip. I filed a report after the first encounter where the main plume reached 18;000 ft and where we penetrated the ash cloud before we knew it was there. The ash cloud on that trip was over the city of san jose due to westerly winds aloft that day. I have reported these eruptions on each occasion yet the commercial weather service still is not reporting these events on their web site and flight plan weather data still contains no advisories of volcanic activity in the vicinity of mroc. I have spoken directly with dispatch on each occasion and after the second event I was patched through to the commercial weather service to discuss the issue with them directly. Their response was that the 'washington volcanic center' has determined this to be a 'mostly gas and steam event' based on satellite imagery and therefore nobody is issuing advisories.my observation is that while the main plume over the volcano may be mostly gas and steam -- it still is a plume rising to 18;000 ft additionally drifting out of that main plume is an extensive cloud that is brown and grey in color and extends 30-40 miles down wind in the inversion layer between 10;000-14;000 ft. I am not suggesting that flight operations need to be halted; but crews operating into and out of mroc require accurate information on volcanic activity in the area for awareness and flight planning so that the ash cloud (and main plume) can be avoided. This is an ongoing event (for at least the last 5 weeks); yet no information of these eruptions is being provided to crews via either the commercial weather service or weather data from the flight plan.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757-200 Captain reported that information provided by the company and Commercial Weather Service regarding volcanic activity in Central America was inadequate.

Narrative: Prior to departure; I reviewed the flight plan weather data for volcanic activity which was listed as 'none.' I had also checked a Commercial Weather Service web site before the trip for volcanic hazard reports for Central America; the Commercial Weather Service reported no volcanic activity.On initial climb; once clear of the haze near the ground; the Turrialba volcano 24 nm east of MROC became visible with a plume rising to approx 15;000 FT over the summit. We had taken off to the west and the volcano became visible during our turn to the north. As we climbed northbound; we could see a brown/grey ash cloud layered between 10;000-13;000 FT extending from the main plume. This ash layer extended 30-40 nm north of the volcano and was a least 15-20 nm wide where we passed over it. The cloud was the density of wood smoke or forest fire smoke. We reported the ash cloud to both Departure Control and Dispatch via ACARS.This my third trip to MROC in the last 5 weeks and the Turrialba volcano has been erupting on each trip. I filed a report after the first encounter where the main plume reached 18;000 FT and where we penetrated the ash cloud before we knew it was there. The ash cloud on that trip was over the city of San Jose due to westerly winds aloft that day. I have reported these eruptions on each occasion yet the Commercial Weather Service still is not reporting these events on their web site and flight plan weather data still contains no advisories of volcanic activity in the vicinity of MROC. I have spoken directly with Dispatch on each occasion and after the second event I was patched through to the Commercial Weather Service to discuss the issue with them directly. Their response was that the 'Washington Volcanic Center' has determined this to be a 'mostly gas and steam event' based on satellite imagery and therefore nobody is issuing advisories.My observation is that while the main plume over the volcano may be mostly gas and steam -- it still is a plume rising to 18;000 FT additionally drifting out of that main plume is an extensive cloud that is brown and grey in color and extends 30-40 miles down wind in the inversion layer between 10;000-14;000 FT. I am not suggesting that flight operations need to be halted; but crews operating into and out of MROC require accurate information on volcanic activity in the area for awareness and flight planning so that the ash cloud (and main plume) can be avoided. This is an ongoing event (for at least the last 5 weeks); yet NO information of these eruptions is being provided to crews via either the Commercial Weather Service or weather data from the flight plan.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.