Can insects stop a jet?
 

In Manises (VLC) Spain, due to the rains there is a plague of flying insects, making impossible to record a video, I wonder if ever, a cloud of flying insects has come to damage a jet plane.

Every cloud has a silver lining ...

insects
 

The short answer is yes.Insects can get into the pitot/static systems of the flight instruments causing blockage and possible wrong info presented to Flt crew.Thats why when aircraft are parked up it is usuall to fit pitot/static blanks and covers to prevent ingress.Air florida flt 90 crash in Washington in Jan 1982 was in part caused by ice blocking the the EPR (engine pressure ratio -a measure of the power output of a gas turbine)inlet on the engine spinner giving a false power indication to the crew.They thought they had take off power but they didnt and it fell out of the sky.Insects could ,I say could,give the same problem, i.e. blockage.Hope this helps.

It is said the Birgenair crash was due to insects nesting in one of the pitot sensors when the a/c was parked for 2 weeks.

The pilots got too confused on different air speed values and crashed.

Gosh, Birgenair.......How long ago was that ? 10 years ? Such a tragic loss of life, the pilots completely disorientated at night with little chance to save their aircraft and passengers :(



SHJ

It's nearer to 20 years than 10. ;-)
1996.

Oh.....time rushes by.......:sad: Around that time I happened to be taking very regular flights from Europe to the Caribbean and reverse, mostly at night and the Birgenair saga added to my unease and a period of panic attacks ensued whilst at 35,000ft.



SHJ

What is even more tragic is that they should have aborted the take-off when the ASI cross-check on the take-off roll showed a major discrepancy between them.

Every time an aircraft hits a bug flying towards it - it stops the jet. The insect flying towards the jet will be doing, say, 3 knots. When it hits the jet it will suddenly be doing, say, 300 knots in the other direction - however the insect will have had to change its velocity from +3 kts (in original direction) to -300 knots in the other direction - it must have gone through a period where it was doing 0 knots while it was in contact with the jet - therefore the jet must have been doing 0 knots for that period.

Bugs are always stopping aircraft!!

:E:E:E:E:E:E