Has there ever been a time where lightning striked an airplane in the air? And what did it do to it?
Answer:
Many many times, airplanes are deisgned to be hit... think about it, a large metal object flying through an electric storm, its bound to be hit... they take the charge, just like a car... the outer shell absorbs all the energy and discipates it through small metal probes on the wings and tail... some have it on the belly of the airplane as well...
In rare cases, lightning strikes will cause electrical failures which will result in a tough landing for pilots but nothing impossible... they would likely get well away from the storm however before attempting to land...
Airplanes get struck by lightning all the time. There is an attach and exit strike (the electrical energy really just passes through the airplane) and also, since the airplane is moving through the lightning bolt, a 'swept stroke.'
At the attachment point, local heating by resistance in the hull can cause small holes due to melting the aluminum- this mostly happens in the body where the skin is thin- where it is thicker, like on the wing, the metal does not get hot enough. These pinholes require structural repair before flight.
The airplane has to be designed to avoid electrically critical components close to the most probable lightning attach points and has circuit breakers to protect from surge currents.
Aircraft designers also have to pay attention to lightning in flammable (fuel containing) zones and ensure multiple layers of protection to prevent sparking in the fuel tanks.
actually lightning strikes airplanes very frequently and nothing happens, the airplanes have lightning absorbers, and the batteries are lightning proof.
Oh yes yes. Lightning strikes very very frequently on airplanes. It's funny though that the demon on the wing jamming up the motor in the Twilight Zone wasn't affected by it. Isn't it?
Airplanes get struck by lightning very often. They are designed to handle it and it poses no significant danger.
Lightning, like everything else, takes the path of least resistance from where it is to where its going. The fuselage of an aircraft is generally made of metal and therefore conducts electricity rather easily. The stuff inside an airplane that could be damaged by electricity (people electronics, etc) are generally made of things that have a higher resistance to electrical flow than the surface of the airplane. As a bolt strikes an airplane, it could either flow around the outside of the airplane where it is met with little to no resistance, or it could enter into some material that forces it to work harder.
The skin of the airplane is designed to channel electricity out through the back of the aircraft through the little antennae that are sticking off the back end. They are called "static wicks"
To think of this in another way, imagine filling up your cathroom sink with water. The water could follow the path of leas resistance and simply go down the drain, or it could climb the basin, jump across your bathroom and go down through the tub. It nearly always goes down the drain.
Commercial aircraft are often hit by lightning. Contrary to some of the answers, it does leave a tell-tale sign. The metal skin where it has been struck will exhibit little 'weld' marks. These must be repaired.
Typically, the repair is to drill out the mark, and place a button-head rivet in the hole.
The static wicks help dissipate static electricity that builds up due to friction while in flight, they are not there to dissipate a lightning strike.
Happen's all the time!
Often. It might affect old-fashioned or back-up instruments such as the compass and possibly communications' equipment and make you jump with surprise but generally a lightening strike isn't too serious. You'd probably just see a mark on the side of the aircraft. The engineers still have to do an extra check of the aircraft though before it flies again.
It's the up- and down-draughts associated with thunderstorms that are far more dangerous and the reason why pilots try to avoid flying through them.
statistically once a year
I have fixed many Airplanes that have been struck by lighting. I have seen little black marks to 2 feet of the trailing edge in the elevator burned away. Most of the time a struck is no big deal. Because the planes is designed to take the strike but we check it out every time it happens. The engineer does not inspect the aircraft the sheet metal and avionic guys check it and if there is a problem we go to the engineer. And normal one strike will have many exit points in the body of the aircraft.
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