I always wonder how airplanes avoid colliding with the thousands of meteors that fall from the sky?

Question

Do airplanes have sophisticated radar to detect these meteors?

Answer 1

Apparently none of the thousands exist long enough to do any damage on airplanes at flying altitudes. And the probability of a large enough meteorite impacting an airplane would be infinitesimal.

No, airplanes dont have meteorite detection radars (there wont be much left to detect by the time they reach flying altitudes) and even if they had, the high velocities of the meteors and the brevity of their flight means that nothing can be done even if detected.

I believe it would be a better question if it was about satellites surviving the meteors.

Answer 2

I am a pilot & I have never had an encounter either distant or close with a meteor. Neither have I ever heard of any other pilot experiencing a collision, or even a near miss with a meteor.

1st of all meteors that penetrate into the lower altitudes that most aircraft fly in are extremely rare.
Most meteors will burn up before they get low enough to hit an aircraft.

So you can stop wondering about that one.

Answer 3

Meteors are usually found in the thermosphere layer of the atmosphere, and airplans fly in the stratosphere, so there is no way that a meteor will collide with an airplane

Answer 4

Airplanes are no longer falling from the skies. the main cutting-edge crash is the single in Denver, and no person died. Planes are no longer falling from our skies. vehicle failures are specifically using fact of below the effect of alcohol employing and blunders. It hardly concerns no count number in case you're in a Ford or a Toyota. And our workmanship is excellent. If no longer, then why are 40-3 hundred and sixty 5 days old Northwest(quickly to be Delta) DC-9s nevertheless flying around in excellent condition? The 50 3 hundred and sixty 5 days old DC-8s that still deliver freight for UPS? a similar elderly B-52s that still serve faithfully serve the Air stress? the very fact that US-outfitted plane can nevertheless properly fly at such an age whilst 10-3 hundred and sixty 5 days old foreign places plane get scrapped is a testomony to the build high quality of our plane.

Answer 5

A plane probably couldn't turn quickly enough to avoid a detected meteor. But since most burn up very high, there is plenty of room between those left in which to fly.

Answer 6

Most meteors burn up upon entering the atmosphere. Most planes fly much, much, much lower than that. So, no problem with that, you're more likely to run into another plane near an airport, and that doesn't happen very often, or as someonelse said, hitting birds is more of an issue and happens quite frequently.

Answer 7

Most airplanes fly below 40.000 feet. This is well clear of any meteor that might enter the atmosfeer, since these burn up pretty much as soon as they enter.

Issue is how not to collide with birds.....

Answer 8

Most meteors burn up in the atmosphere far above where the planes are flying. The planes are flying so close to the ground, that a meteor hitting a plane is about as likely as one hitting your house.

Answer 9

The real way that they avoid them is by probability, at any given time, airplanes are taking up less than 1/100 of 1% of the sky, its just not likely that one will get hit...

Answer 10

No, airplane wont get to meet with meteors it is a lot higher