What happens when lightning strikes a plane?
- I think the question needs to be changed by replacing the word "thunder" with "lightning". This is because there is no thunder without lightning.
- Lightning is the emission of electricity in cumulonimbus clouds. The expansion causes a shock wave that turns into a thunderous sound wave known as thunder.
- Statistics show that an airplane is struck by lightning at least once a year. Lightning is not dangerous in modern aircraft. Even if there is a direct hit, it will not penetrate the cabin or affect the engines.
- When an aircraft is struck by lightning, the electrical charges simply travel the length of the aircraft and exit through static tubes or discharges on the following sides of the aircraft's flaps or tail.
- This theory is based on the Faraday cage principle, something a science student might have learned in their previous physics class.
- Faraday discovered that if you put electricity into a metal cage, no matter how strong or high the voltage is, everything in the cage is completely protected from the electricity. If you're sitting in a window seat behind the plane's wings, just look at the static pipes at the back of the wings. They are like brushes with fine hair. This is where the electrical charges come from when the plane is struck by lightning.
- What if lightning strikes the body of the plane?
- Nothing too serious. You may suffer minor burns on the skin of the torso at the point of impact. The pilot is usually aware of such a flight strike. After landing, he will report it to the engineers for further investigation.
- The last incident was when lightning struck an airplane about 59 years ago on a Pan American Boeing 707 flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Baltimore, then Philadelphia International Airport on December 8, 1963.
- When the plane arrived at the airport, the controller informed the pilots that there were a number of thunderstorms nearby. They are asked to follow a holding pattern.
- Shortly thereafter, the pilot sent a message: "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY. Clipper 214 is out of control!"
- Investigators concluded that the flash indicated ignition of fuel vapors in the fuel tank and caused the explosion.
- However, newer aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 are better designed and manufactured with a higher proportion of composite materials. They are covered with a thin layer of copper that acts as Faraday cages.
- Today, all aircraft are tested and certified for lightning in factories. Before they are released for flight, they go through very rigorous lightning simulations.