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Xaccers · 02-08-2005, 22:56

To my knowledge, planes can handle being struck by normal lightening, as they're a giant faraday cage (same as your car, it's not the rubber tyres that protect you, even CSI got that wrong tsk) so the electricity just shoots through the metal shell along the line of least resistance.
There are however "super" lightening bolts, which flash back up from the ground.
Saw a program about them, where a glider was struck by one and the pin that holds the wings together which can cope with normal lightening strikes was so bent and twisted from the heat of a super strike that it let the wings fall off!
Also, I think planes can basically land themselves (ILS and all that) but very few pilots (or even airlines) would be happy letting the computer take control, but I'm not 100% on this

02-08-2005, 22:56	#10
Xaccers cf.mega poster Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Milling around Milton Keynes Age: 31 Posts: 11,759	Re: Canadian Plane Crash To my knowledge, planes can handle being struck by normal lightening, as they're a giant faraday cage (same as your car, it's not the rubber tyres that protect you, even CSI got that wrong tsk) so the electricity just shoots through the metal shell along the line of least resistance. There are however "super" lightening bolts, which flash back up from the ground. Saw a program about them, where a glider was struck by one and the pin that holds the wings together which can cope with normal lightening strikes was so bent and twisted from the heat of a super strike that it let the wings fall off! Also, I think planes can basically land themselves (ILS and all that) but very few pilots (or even airlines) would be happy letting the computer take control, but I'm not 100% on this __________________ When I was younger I used to pray for a bike. Then I realised god doesn't work like that, so I stole a bike and prayed for forgiveness.