Lightning Strikes

 

The weather here in San Antonio this week is awful. Today I had to cut short my swim in the outdoor pool as thunder and lightning were directly overhead. Not wanting to be a victim of a lightning strike I sought the sanctuary of the pool-house. Just what options are available to airliners when thunderstorms are present? In March 2023 a Lufthansa flight from Austin to Frankfurt had to divert to Dulles after it was struck by lightning with several passengers requiring medical treatment (Tedder, 2023). The FAA instructs pilots to avoid all thunderstorms and never go closer than 5 miles to any visible storm (FAA, 2008). The reason for this is a thunderstorm is an uncontrolled heat engine that may produce any or all of the most violent weather hazards a pilot can encounter, hail, ice, turbulence to name a few. Airliners can usually fly above thunderstorms. If this is not possible then they will be diverted around the bad weather. Should the thunderstorm be in the vicinity of an airport and its magnitude impact the safe operations of aircraft then air traffic control will either re-route aircraft to another airfield or, if the weather will pass then they can elect to place the aircraft in either a holding pattern or impose speed restrictions, so they arrive once the storm has passed (FAA, 2022).

Fig 1. Lightning Strike (Baraniuk, 2016)

For myself, I love being at home during a storm and listening to the rain hitting the windows. There is something soothing about being in the comfort of my house and hearing the rhythmic pitter patter of the rain and rumbling thunder. What I would not like to experience is listening to the same weather system whilst on a flight. Luckily the people of air traffic control take the right approach to ensure flights are as safe as possible.

 

 

References

Baraniuk, C. (2016, October 4). Why lightning strikes don’t harm the planes we fly in. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20161004-why-lightning-strikes-dont-harm-the-planes-we-fly-in

FAA. (2008). Thunderstorms – don’t flirt… skirt ‘em. https://www.faasafety.gov/files/gslac/library/documents/2011/Aug/56397/FAA%20P-8740-12%20Thunderstorms[hi-res]%20branded.pdf

FAA. (2022). FAQ: Weather delay. https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/weather/faq

Tedder, M. (2023, March 3). International flight from Texas plummets after being struck by lightning. The Street. https://www.thestreet.com/retail/international-flight-from-texas-plummets-after-being-struck-by-lightning