Worker electrocuted during TS activity
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49Ra3Bc_fP8

A worker connecting his headset while electric storm activity gets seriously injured. Gladly he survived.

Yep. Same happened at EDDF last year

Frankfurt-Flughafen: Blitz schlägt in Headset von Mitarbeiter ein - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Spent a few hours delayed with an interrupted boarding at SIN last month due massive storm activity.

Does emphasise the dangers.

So is it lack of training or awareness that they are on headsets in known electrical storm activity?

Airports in Oz "shut down" with lightning within 5nm. Based on that video and the other zappo on youtube, a good idea!

All the best to the injured worker.

Nearly the same has happened at LOWG (Graz) a few years ago, but with a less fortunate outcome. There is a reason why ground handling is stopped in such weather, and it is no time for press-on-itis...

They need a big earth stud and large clamp at each gate, so someone can ground the aircraft.

Do they stop passenger activity during electrical storms too? If you're stepping in/out of the aircraft at the wrong moment then you may turn out to be the weakest link.

Witnessd two lightning strikes involving techies and one involving a cargo loader over my fifty plus years. Trust me, a ground wire will dissapate a static charge but could never handle a lightning strike. I was walking toward an L-1049 when it was struck on the center fin. The ground wire, hooked to the nose gear evaporated. The main charge went down th e LMLG into a storm sewer A mechanic, closing the side accessory panels on nor. 1 engine had blue sparks reaching out to him. I ran toward his metal A-frame ladder expecting to see him fall off but instead he turned away from the engine and facing outwards, descended the ladder on his heels like a zombie. He reached the ramp and collapsed. Fortunely he was breathing and recovered after a few days in hospital.
Years later was standing by a DC8-51 with a mechanic under nor. 3 engine when it took a strike on the vertical fin. RMLG lit up and it traveled down, again into a storm drain. Interesting display of blue sparks between engine and mechanic. Ran over to drag him out but he was conscious, liked up at me and said, "Something happened, didn't, it?"
Third incident was down in KPHL. Had gone down for a problem on an L-1011 but a B.727-200 was struck by lightning. Again charge went down the LMLG into a storm drain. A ramie was closing forward baggage hold. Down he went in pouring rain. His buddies brought him into the locker room but unfortunately grabbed his feet and dragged his wad along the concrete, Fortunely face up. I met them in the locker room. He was out, had a pulse and was breathing. I was on a volunteer rescue squad so checked him for burns. He did have foot burns and hand and I heard later suffered from internal injuries.
Lightning is dangerous for sure. The first strike above was out of a cloudy sky but no thunder or rain. Same with second. Third, they should have stopped ramp operations. That's what I did in later years when I was in charge.

Keep Clear!
 

Apparently an injury not uncommon on golf courses is burns to the posterior. Someone sat on a shooting stick stool is a better path than the surrounding ground. Lightning strikes a nearby tree, and as the charge spreads out from the roots it travels up the shooting stick, through the seat, and down the legs. Ouch. Don't sit inline with the radius from the nearest tree...

Grounding an aircraft through even a thick conductor won't do it. There's still a large potential difference across that conductor, so a ground handler also touching aircraft and ground will still get a hell of a belt. Best way is to stop the aircraft getting struck in the first place. Easier at the terminal / gate because there's somewhere to put taller lightning conductors, not so easy further out into the apron, on taxi ways, etc.

Wireless headsets are a good idea. We use them at HKG for this reason. A long lead will induce a charge with a nearby strike and shock the wearer.

How do they work, Dan? VHF?

Yup. I was delayed for two hours in Dublin a few hours ago due to storm activity. While my wife was somewhat annoyed, I pointed out to her that the conditions were dangerous for the people on the ground. She relaxed. A couple of G&Ts were had while we waited.


As passengers we're all keen to get there on time; we know full well that for selfish reasons the airlines, the crew, the ground staff all want the same thing.


Nobody should be put at risk in the whole enterprise in order to get my ass to a meeting in time.

Lightning is quite unpredictable. A rare direct hit may result in nothing more than minor skin burns, serious internal damage, possibly leading to death or instant death. Years ago a woman sitting admiring the view over Megalong Valley suffered a direct hit. She suffered minor skin burns, but her greatest injury was to her dignity, as it blew the bum out of her jeans.

Often, injuries are caused, not by a direct hit, but by the potential difference between the victim's feet, due to a nearby strike. Cattle are often killed by a strike on or near a fence or metal trough that they are in contact with.

I'm not sure of the physics of it, but I've seen a report of a fence wire that was struck, that melted into length about 1 metre long. I saw a possible explanation that talked about resonance. I didn't understand it then, and have forgotten the details. Perhaps some of the techies here can offer an explanation.

Isn't earthing the aircraft the worst idea?
Just thinking out loud as I'm not an expert. But it seems that this is just asking for the aircraft to get a direct hit rather than absorbing "some" PD from a nearby strike which will leak away.
Any experts?

Whilst working for a large engineering company at Changi, I would be notified when electrical storm activity was around and the time of operation suspension. Also all over the exposed areas there where lightening shelters. Not seen any place else in my travels.

My first shift at Changi for another large engineering company, found a 5/16" hole in the A320 fuselage, behind the Fwd Pax Door where the airbridge had been fitted during a storm. Shock horror.

They're connected via Bluetooth to a dongle you insert in the ground comms port.

Quite a few years ago at an Italian airfield, the call came out to all exposed staff to seek cover from an electric storm. One employee couldn't be bothered driving to the shed, so he took refuge in the push-back truck he was operating, which was connected to the aircraft with a towbar. He sat there, head-set on and connected to the aircraft, when lightning struck the aircraft. His brain was fried and he died on the spot.

Don't mess with electrical storms!

If you don't earth it then the first person who touches the aircraft could get a belt. Aircraft pick up an awful lot of static charge just by flying around from the friction of the air, especially in TS conditions where they'll be flying through ice particles etc.

yes, but currently, we don't earth them.
I know there's discharge wicks and conductive tyres to address the problem of static build up, but somebody was suggesting a gert big grounded post to earth it, and that is what I was questioning.

I agree with post #10.

A mesh of wires above the aircraft at the gate/apron area will reduce the risk of lightning striking the aircraft. Nothing is 100% guaranteed.

Grounding the aircraft or not does not make any difference - the lightning will strike anyway.

(Private pilot only - but long professional experience in lightning protection)