Has there ever been any incidents in which an airplane had been stuck by lighting during flight? Why is it not more likely even if they do attempt to fly around the storm I would think that they are pretty good conductors of electricity... or does the object need to be grounded in order to be stuck?? Why/ Why not?
2006-08-14 08:55:49 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
An airplane in flight is not touching the ground, and although the plane is probably a good conductor of electricity, the electrons have to have somewhere to go. Only a small amount of the lightning will hit the plane in most cases. Why? Because lightning is a pathway for electrons to travel. As they strike the plane, they charge the plane up, making it less attractive to the rest of the electrons in the lightning bolt. The electrons would rather go somewhere else at this point.
But even a large lightning strike on a plane would not harm the people inside. Physics teaches us that any closed metallic object (like a plane or a car) protects the occupants from the strike because the electrons only travel on the SURFACE of the conductor-- not inside.
2006-08-14 09:00:57 · answer #1 · answered by figaro1912 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I was in a 747 coming back from Europe, and a bolt of lighting struck the nose. Not fun...
An object does not have to be "grounded". For an event to occur, you simply need a potential difference between two points.
2006-08-14 16:01:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My parents plane was struck by lightning in flight in Europe, many years ago. They had to make an emergency landing, but everyone was okay. I would say radar etc. has made it better as far as "going around" . This happened in the seventies. I would be more scared of getting air sick and having to puke in front of a bunch of people!!
2006-08-14 16:01:52 · answer #3 · answered by iceberg 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they have statics disapaters on the wing tips and several other spots on the plane. Keeps the plane from being such a conductor. Its been a long time since a worked on them in the air force so i may have spelled disapaters wrong
2006-08-14 16:03:30 · answer #4 · answered by towelboy70 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Few and far between you will get damage from a lightning strike. Aircraft have static discharge ports on them just to allow the lightning and static build up to dissipate of its skin.
2006-08-14 16:02:12 · answer #5 · answered by B R 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It happens often actually, but the lightning does no harm because it goes straight through it and goes to the ground where it lands all the energy.
2006-08-14 15:59:39 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was an avionic technician in the USAF for six years and we had lightning strikes on aircraft sometimes. Sometimes it does damage, but most of the time nothing really happens.
2006-08-14 16:01:31 · answer #7 · answered by Cybeq 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe NASA actually fly an aircraft with the sole purpose of it being struck by lightning
2006-08-14 16:01:50 · answer #8 · answered by Mof 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it gets hit, nothing really happens, because yes, it does have to be grounded, otherwise the electricity has nowhere to go.
2006-08-14 15:59:52 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes they do, but it doesn't seem to be that bad if you are on it (first link) although the ground engineers may be interested (second link)
2006-08-14 16:05:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋