About thunder and aeroplanes?

Question

It's been thundering here in Western Australia.
Just now loud, loud thunder burst overhead accompanied by lightening and rain.
Just then the regular 11.00a.m. Singapore to Perth large plane flew low over my house as usual. (I luckily live near the airport which has lots of green land around it)
What would it have been like in the plane? Why didn't the plane change direction? Could the plane have been affected/ hit /crashed by the thunder?

Answer 1

altering the flight path of a commercial plane means rerouting every plane scheduled for landing and departure on any particular day because the main factors in exercising safe and regulatory flight control are speed, direction and altitude of every single flight on any given second to monitor its heading and its bearing and therefore prevent collision between two or more planes, so the majority of elements used in the construction of planes are non - metallic, this will minimize the risks of a plane being struck by lightning but it will not completely eliminate them

Answer 2

the thunder is air that expands, close enough to a airplane cane courses damage. since the lightning often goes to the earth instead of a plane (from the earth to the sky!) is the change of damaging a plane very low. even when a plane gets hit by lightning is the result minor because the current that a plane can absorb is not much, the change of a electric problem inside is also low,- look up the gage of Faraday effect!

Answer 3

The only problem with a thunderstorm is the turbulence in the air, but I know someone who was in a plane in a tunderstorm, so they'll still fly through such storms if need be.

Even if the plane is hit by lightning (as they often are) it won't damage the plane; it's made of metal but it's not grounded and for lots of weird electromagnetic that my brother tried and failed to explain to me, nothing will get electrocuted.

If you're ever in a plane in a storm and the flight attendants start telling people to close their window shades, it's probably to prevent more, er, flighty passengers from seeing the lightning strike the plane.

Answer 4

Thunder and lightning are usually associated with a cloud structure called a cumulo nimbus, specifically a "towering" cumulo nimbus. They reach heights of more than 25000 feet ("towering") and have strong vertical air currents associated with them. Pilots do not fly through them or even close to them. The air in the cloud is traveling up a high speed, returning down the sides. So, even close to such a cloud you could encounter severe downdrafts. Weather to be avoided. But, the other comments are correct. There is no hazard to the plane in particular from lightning or thunder.

Answer 5

Thunder is only sound waves and would have little or no effect on the airplane. Usually airplanes avoid thunderstorms because of the turbulence from the winds. In your case the airplane must have needed to land due to lack of fuel.

Answer 6

planes are designed in sucha way that the charge of a lightening bolt gets distributed along its surface and no current flow takes place hence, they are saved from lightening strike. however, if this charge leaks into the internal circuitry of the plane then it can create havoc. So, the designers always keep this in mind.