Inflight lightning strike
Thread Starter


Joined: Feb 2006
Aviation Qualifications: LAME
Posts: 36,145
Likes: 5,739
From: Falling off the end of the thread
Inflight lightning strike
Fascinating image taken of one on a Boeing 777 cargo plane
Photographer Snaps Once-in-a-Lifetime Picture of Plane Mid-Flight
Photographer Snaps Once-in-a-Lifetime Picture of Plane Mid-Flight

Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 110
Likes: 0
From: Right there...
I've been hit twice by lightning strike. Once on a King Air; and one engine got magnetized. The second time on a business jet and the strike left a mark on the nose and a burnt static discharge wick on the horizontal stabilizer.
And will never forget my first time in front of St. Elmos fire on a 737.
And will never forget my first time in front of St. Elmos fire on a 737.

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 609
Likes: 1
From: Around the world.
One thing I would like to know:
When my aircraft has been struck by lightning, it seems to always strike on the nose (A320), a few feet from my face. Why isn't it very loud in flight? To be honest it sounds like someone hit the skin with a hammer. Heavy rain sounds loud on the screen. A GPU on the ground sounds loud outside even with the avionics vents shut. Lightning strike... not so much. Why?
When my aircraft has been struck by lightning, it seems to always strike on the nose (A320), a few feet from my face. Why isn't it very loud in flight? To be honest it sounds like someone hit the skin with a hammer. Heavy rain sounds loud on the screen. A GPU on the ground sounds loud outside even with the avionics vents shut. Lightning strike... not so much. Why?
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,766
Likes: 4
From: Here and there
I was in an aircraft that was struck by lightning last year and an engine stalled. I researched the weather in conjunction with a physicist from Oxford University and in his opinion the aircraft induced the strike.



Joined: Jul 2013
Aviation Qualifications: Non-Aircrew
Posts: 5,682
Likes: 3,347
From: Everett, WA
Tubby
Did the strike attach to the engine nacelle? It's not common (partly because lightning doesn't often attach to the nacelle), but if the strike attaches to the inlet the resultant pressure/temperature spike can surge the compressor.
Did the strike attach to the engine nacelle? It's not common (partly because lightning doesn't often attach to the nacelle), but if the strike attaches to the inlet the resultant pressure/temperature spike can surge the compressor.




