Tests on ash show volcano flight ban was right - Herald Scotland | News | Home News
"Some critics questioned whether it was justified, but now the new scientific report published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes it was.
Researchers analysed samples of ash from the volcano and found they were capable of causing an air disaster.
The fragments remained sharp and abrasive even after attempts to blunt the particles by stirring them in water.
They would have sandblasted aircraft windows, making them impossible to see through, and could have stalled engines.
The report is at odds with claims made by airlines after European airspace was closed last year.
Some operators said that safety measures imposed by the semi-privatised air traffic control organisation, Nats, were an over-reaction."
The researchers, led by Dr Sigurdur Gislason from the University of Iceland, wrote: “The very sharp, hard particles put aircraft at risk from abrasion on windows and body and from melting in jet engines. In the lab, ash particles did not become less sharp during two weeks of stirring in water, so airborne particles would remain sharp even after days of interaction with each other and water in clouds. Thus, concerns for air transport were well-grounded.”
BD