Lightning Strikes (merged)
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
From: West of Ireland + London
MAN-DUB flights generally dont reach much higher than 16000ft or so anyway as normal flight time generally only hits the 35 minute mark.So its not beyond the bounds of probability that beginning of descent coinciding with the LS,hence description of rapid descent or whatever it was. It all seems more than a little Daily Mail to me.
Last edited by schoolkid; 12th January 2008 at 21:05. Reason: Spelling mistake
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 481
Likes: 0
From: France
Ooops, my mistake...
Ryanair Lightning Strike
...that's the kind of lightning strike I'd like to know about at Ryanair.
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 569
Likes: 0
From: Stockholm Sweden
All you who think a lightning strike is a non-event, read on
A Deutshe BA Fokker 100 was hit by lightning at rotation out of ARN some moons ago.
First message was Nbr 1 eng low oil pressure. He shut the engine down as directed by the ECAM. As the engine wound down he got a message Nbr 2 engine low oil pressure. He kept it running, ignored the ECAM telling him to shut it down, and landed pronto.
On investigation Both oil pressure sensors had failed due to the lightning strike. We changed one (only could borrow one from Transwede) and MEL'd the other.
The Fokker rep at TAT said that this was a known problem with the Tay engine (but not known to any of us at ARN)
A Deutshe BA Fokker 100 was hit by lightning at rotation out of ARN some moons ago.
First message was Nbr 1 eng low oil pressure. He shut the engine down as directed by the ECAM. As the engine wound down he got a message Nbr 2 engine low oil pressure. He kept it running, ignored the ECAM telling him to shut it down, and landed pronto.
On investigation Both oil pressure sensors had failed due to the lightning strike. We changed one (only could borrow one from Transwede) and MEL'd the other.
The Fokker rep at TAT said that this was a known problem with the Tay engine (but not known to any of us at ARN)
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: The Netherlands
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
From: UK
I would have thought it wouldn't cause too many problems- lightning travels through path of least resistance, so probably just through the skin of the aircraft and not much else- just what I imagine would happen.
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
From: uk
Like a lot of pilots I've had a few and from the inside it is very, very bright! This is amazing footage of what it looks like from the outside. I'll try and be more afraid next time it happens 
I did once see a glider get hit by lightning when it was still attached to the winch cable. Well, if you go and stick a 1000 foot lightning conductor near a big, black cloud then what do you expect. The pilot was mildly shaken.
Unlike the other glider who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got blown to bits:
http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources...pdf_500699.pdf
I did once see a glider get hit by lightning when it was still attached to the winch cable. Well, if you go and stick a 1000 foot lightning conductor near a big, black cloud then what do you expect. The pilot was mildly shaken.
Unlike the other glider who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got blown to bits:
http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources...pdf_500699.pdf
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 117
Likes: 0
From: UK
Lighting and the Faraday box
I trust all you aircrew watched the TV programme tonight on lightning. They were explaining how an aircraft acts like a Faraday box and distributes the current around the airframe and then releases it causing little damage. BUT their view on what will happen with composites - like the 787 - was quite alarming. Obviously they are trying to resolve this issue; in fact with with copper mesh but on the trial skin it burnt badly. Any more updates on this problem?
