Is lightning striking a plane so dangerous?
Spring has come, and with it the period of summer vacations is getting closer. Many Russians will go on a well-deserved vacation abroad. In connection with the recent accident, the question arises of ensuring flight safety. So, on March 23, lightning struck a Pobeda company airliner. Fortunately, no one was hurt. However, aerophobes remember the tragic incident with the Pan American Boeing 707, when a lightning strike in the fuel tank area resulted in an explosion of the aircraft and the death of all its passengers. This drama happened in 1963.
For reference, lightning strikes on our planet at a frequency of about 100 times per second. Their current strength can vary from 10 amperes to several hundred thousand. It is not surprising that, according to statistics, for each liner working on the line, lightning strikes on average twice a year, sometimes more often. Most of these incidents remain unknown, however, some come to the attention of the press.
For example, in 2016, an electric discharge hit three liners at once, standing in Moscow Sheremetyevo. In the same year, in New York, he made an emergency landing after a lightning strike of an American company Embraer E 170. Onboard there were 55 people. Fortunately, no one was hurt. In 2017, lightning struck the liners bound for Moscow from Astrakhan and Prague, as well as on the Amsterdam-Lima flight. Last year, at least two cases were also recorded in Russia.
Such incidents were not spared by the "powers that be." So, in 2012, French President Francois Hollande was late for a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel after his plane was hit by a powerful electric discharge from heaven. There is evidence that ball lightning flew into the cabin of the liner, in which Mikhail Gorbachev was flying, but disappeared at the tail of the plane, without hitting anyone.
Even more dangerous cases occurred in military aviation. Such information is rarely made public, but it is known that the B-52 Stratofortress, an American strategic bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons, was hit by the elements. The discharge punched a hole in his tail and disabled the “strategist”.
Having caught a little "horror", we hasten to reassure readers. After the tragedy with the Boeing 707 in 1963, aircraft manufacturers made the appropriate conclusions and made changes to the design of the aircraft. Modern liners are equipped with special protection of fuel tanks, capable of withstanding the blows of the strongest lightning. On board are special static electricity arresters, most of which have an additional copper shielding net. Thanks to such measures, the electric discharge in the overwhelming majority of cases leaves only a small burn on the skin at the impact site, which not only does not cause human casualties, but does not even affect the change of course.
For reference, lightning strikes on our planet at a frequency of about 100 times per second. Their current strength can vary from 10 amperes to several hundred thousand. It is not surprising that, according to statistics, for each liner working on the line, lightning strikes on average twice a year, sometimes more often. Most of these incidents remain unknown, however, some come to the attention of the press.
For example, in 2016, an electric discharge hit three liners at once, standing in Moscow Sheremetyevo. In the same year, in New York, he made an emergency landing after a lightning strike of an American company Embraer E 170. Onboard there were 55 people. Fortunately, no one was hurt. In 2017, lightning struck the liners bound for Moscow from Astrakhan and Prague, as well as on the Amsterdam-Lima flight. Last year, at least two cases were also recorded in Russia.
Such incidents were not spared by the "powers that be." So, in 2012, French President Francois Hollande was late for a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel after his plane was hit by a powerful electric discharge from heaven. There is evidence that ball lightning flew into the cabin of the liner, in which Mikhail Gorbachev was flying, but disappeared at the tail of the plane, without hitting anyone.
Even more dangerous cases occurred in military aviation. Such information is rarely made public, but it is known that the B-52 Stratofortress, an American strategic bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons, was hit by the elements. The discharge punched a hole in his tail and disabled the “strategist”.
Having caught a little "horror", we hasten to reassure readers. After the tragedy with the Boeing 707 in 1963, aircraft manufacturers made the appropriate conclusions and made changes to the design of the aircraft. Modern liners are equipped with special protection of fuel tanks, capable of withstanding the blows of the strongest lightning. On board are special static electricity arresters, most of which have an additional copper shielding net. Thanks to such measures, the electric discharge in the overwhelming majority of cases leaves only a small burn on the skin at the impact site, which not only does not cause human casualties, but does not even affect the change of course.
Information